TEARLESS 
NVESTIGATOR 


Men 


A    FEARLESS 

INVESTIGATOR 


CH I CAGO 

A.  C.  McCLURG   AND   COMPANY 
1896 


COPYRIGHT 
BY  A.  C.  McCLURG  &  Co. 

A.  D.  1896 


A  FEARLESS  INVESTIGATOR. 


CHAPTER   I. 

IF  you,  intelligent  reader,  had  seen  me,  John 
Hardy,  as  I  sat  one  pleasant  May  morning  in 
my  sister's  sewing-room,  you  would  have  thought, 
if  you  had  observed  me  at  all,  that  I  was  a  young 
man  of  wealth  and  ease ;  that  the  pallor  of  my 
face  and  the  thinness  of  my  legs  were  incidental, 
not  constitutional. 

It  is  the  habitual  state  of  a  man's  mind  which 
shows  in  his  outward  appearance,  and  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  I  had  known  only 
health,  wealth  and  ease. 

The  child  who  has  sat  in  Fortune's  lap  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  and  received  only 
caresses,  is  surprised  when  suddenly  that  unac- 
countable goddess  strikes  him  a  stinging  blow. 

Six  months  before  the  opening  of  our  story  my 
inherited  fortune  and  I  parted  company ;  and 
while  mildly  trying  to  adjust  myself  to  new 


2061744 


6  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

conditions  I  was  warmly  embraced  by  typhoid 
fever. 

When  pronounced  convalescent,  I  was  allowed 
to  sit  an  hour  or  two  every  morning  in  my  sister 
Nanny's  sewing-room  while  she  busied  herself  in 
the  nursery  just  beyond.  This  gave  me  a  feeling 
of  freedom;  at  the  same  time,  Nanny  could  have 
heard  me  if  I  had  made  any  attempt  to  escape. 
The  doctor  had  made  his  final  visit,  leaving  with 
the  cheerful  injunction  —  "  Now  fill  him  up  !  " 

I  never  had  considered  my  sister,  Mrs.  Tom 
Davenport,  a  parsimonious  person,  but  I  firmly 
believe  now  that  people  cannot  be  truly  liberal 
providers  until  they  have  had  a  fever. 

I  wondered,  as  I  looked  at  my  thin  hands  and 
legs  that  suggested  rake-handles  in  bags,  if  my 
sister  had  forgotten  what  the  doctor  had  said. 

It  was  a  fine  morning,  and  I  sat  in  the  wide  win- 
dow of  the  sewing-room  where  Nanny  had  ordered 
me  to  go  for  my  sun-bath. 

No  one,  except  the  baby,  had  taken  any  notice 
of  me  for  some  time.  She  had  crept  up  to  my 
knees,  white  and  wholesome-looking,  fresh  from 
her  bath,  and  although  the  thought  had  occurred 
to  me  that  perhaps  she  would  not  be  bad  eating, 
I  had  not  permitted  it  to  dwell  in  my  mind  for  an 
instant;  and  when  I  saw  her  nurse  I  ordered  the 
little  fat  thing  taken  out  of  the  room. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  7 

''  I  sent  her  to  see  you  because  I  thought  she 
would  amuse  you,"  said  my  sister,  coming  in  and 
drawing  out  her  cutting  table;  "did  she  trouble 
you?" 

"  She  might  if  I  had  eaten  her,"  I  replied,  "  but 
I  thought  perhaps  you  could  find  something  less 
expensive,  if  not  so  palatable." 

"  John ! "  She  came  to  the  window  and  looked 
me  in  the  eye.  I  returned  the  look  without  the 
quiver  of  an  eyelash.  "  You  look  perfectly  sane," 
she  murmured,  and  went  back  to  her  work.  In  a 
moment  I  heard  the  click  of  her  scissors  on  the 
cutting  table. 

I  waited  to  see  if  she  had  any  mercy  in  her  soul ; 
but  when  I  found  she  could  cut  a  hope  and  sever 
it  from  me,  forever,  as  fast  as  I  could  raise  one,  I 
said  in  a  fairly  steady  voice,  "  Nan,  I  spared  your 
baby ;  is  this  the  way  you  reward  my  self-control?  " 

She  dropped  into  a  chair  and  let  the  long  piece 
of  cloth  she  was  cutting  slide  to  the  floor.  She 
was  almost  in  tears.  "John,  dear,  if  you  are  crazy 
again,  or  are  going  to  have  a  relapse,  we  really 
must  have  the  nurse  back." 

"  If  you  get  a  nurse,"  I  implored,  "  get  a 
younger  one,  a  plumper  one ;  one  that  has  n't  seen 
much  service ;  one  that  I  can  eat !  " 

"John,"  —  she  was  trying  to  speak  —  calmly,  "do 
you  mean  to  say  that  you  are  hungry  ?  It  is  not 


8  A  Fearless  Investigator, 

an  hour  since  you  had  breakfast,  and  you  ate  like 
a  boa-constrictor ;  ten  men  on  a  farm  could  not  eat 
in  a  week  what  you  ate  in  half  an  hour  !  "  Then, 
more  mildly,  "Why,  it  frightens  me,  dear." 

"  Did  n't  the  doctor  say  to  fill  me  up  ?  and  here 
you  are  counting  my  mouthfuls." 

"  John,  dear,  you  are  weak  and  ungentlemanly  ; 
I  am  positively  afraid  to  give  you  more." 

"  The  doctor  said  to  fill  me  up !  "  I  roared. 

"  I  intend  to  go  and  see  if  he  meant  that  literally." 
She  spoke  firmly  as  she  arose  and  threw  down  her 
work.  "  If  it  had  been  the  minister,"  I  cried, 
"  you  might  have  taken  it  figuratively,  but  the 
doctor  —  " 

Alas !  She  had  disappeared,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes I  heard  the  front  door  close  suddenly. 

I  rang  the  bell  and  ordered  the  maid  who  an- 
swered it  to  go  to  the  cook  and  get  me  anything 
she  had  that  was  good,  bad,  or  left  over.  She 
was  gone  so  long  I  was  obliged  to  ring  again. 
This  time  she  only  looked  in  at  the  door  and  said 
the  cook  told  her  Mrs.  Davenport  had  left  orders 
for  no  food  to  be  taken  up  stairs  until  she  came 
back. 

I  managed  to  preserve  my  dignity  before  the 
maid,  but  was  just  on  the  point  of  breaking  down 
a  few  minutes  later,  when  I  heard  Nanny  come  in, 
and  she  was  not  alone.  "  It  is  Thurston  Moore," 
she  said.  "  May  he  come  up  ?  " 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  9 

"  Yes,"  I  called  out,  "  if  he  does  n't  mind  being 
eaten." 

"  Not  a  bit ! ''  cried  Thurston  Moore,  and  his 
strong  voice  seemed  to  fill  the  house  with  a  new 
life.  "  You  will  find  me  well  baked,  too,  for  it 's  as 
hot  as  summer  out.  Tell  me,  are  you  all  right 
again  ?  "  By  this  time  he  had  reached  the  door 
and  caught  sight  of  me. 

"Jove,  what  legs!  But  the  doctor  told  Mrs. 
Davenport  to  let  you  eat  every  five  minutes  if  you 
could,  and  I  know  what  you  are  going  to  have. 
Here  it  comes,  and  while  you  eat  I  can  talk  to  you. 
Did  you  get  mother's  letter?  " 

"  Yes  ;  and  I  appreciated  it,  too,"  I  replied,  with 
an  eye  ever  turning  towards  Nanny,  who  was  ar- 
ranging my  lunch  table. 

"  Prove  it  by  going  back  with  me  —  the  carriage 
is  at  the  door." 

"  Wait  at  least  a  week,  Thurston,"  cried  Nanny. 
"  Why,  if  you  should  take  him  to-day,  he  would  eat 
your  house  and  your  furniture." 

"  Then  The  Poplars  is  just  the  place  for  you, 
John,  —  lots  of  old  furniture  that  ought  to  be  eaten. 
And  now  is  the  time  to  come.  You  don't  want  to 
be  behind  the  times,  and  not  to  be,  you  must  in- 
vestigate. Investigate  without  prejudice!  Oh! 
come  to  The  Poplars !  Mother  will  look  out  for 
your  health,  and  I  will  see  that  you  are  amused." 


io  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

When  I  was  a  boy  Mrs.  Moore  had  been  my 
ideal  of  a  friend  and  a  hostess.  I  had  always 
thought  my  mother  conventional  and  aristocratic, 
while  Mrs.  Moore  worshipped  no  form  and  was 
democratic.  Their  friendship  grew  out  of  the  fact 
that  they  had  been  thrown  together  m  their  youth, 
when  hearts  are  warm  and  heads  have  not  learned 
the  art  of  advantageous  selection. 

It  was  years  since  Nanny  or  I  had  visited  The 
Poplars,  yet  in  my  financial  and  physical  downfall 
Mrs.  Moore  was  the  first  to  come  and  make  me 
feel  that  I  had  made  no  mistake  in  not  dying. 

"  The  doctor  said  that  you  needed  to  have  your 
mind  taken  off  yourself,"  continued  Thurston,  per- 
suasively. "  Come  to  The  Poplars,  and  I  will  invite 
Emmanuel  Temple  and  his  wife,  Consolation,  to 
meet  you.  I  '11  defy  you  to  remember  yourself 
when  they  are  present.  Old  Protoplasm,  we  call 
him.  And  you  shall  see  the  twins  —  the  Infant 
Protoplasts." 

"  Do  be  careful  what  you  say  to  him !  "  cried 
Nanny.  "  Why,  he  is  just  out  of  delirium." 

"  I  only  wanted  to  amuse  him,"  Thurston  said, 
laughing.  "  Old  Protoplasm  is  a  materialist,  and 
his  wife  is  a  spiritualist." 

"How  can  you  be  interested  in  such  people, 
Thurston  !  "  Nanny  exclaimed,  her  expression  be- 
traying more  than  surprise. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  1 1 

"  Why,  I  love  them ! "  he  returned  fervidly. 
"  Really,  now,  to  enjoy  yourself  at  our  house,  John, 
you  must  throw  yourself  right  into  the  spirit  of  it. 
It 's  a  lot  like  chorus  singing;  if  you  're  in  it,  why 
it's  grand,  but  if  you  are  just  outside,  you  'd  better 
miss  it  altogether.  You  know  Clara  Norton.  She 
is  very  anxious  to  see  Consolation  Temple,  and  she 
has  promised  to  come  out  next  week.  It 's  going 
to  be  a  rare  week  for  an  investigator  !  " 

"  Clara  Norton?  Why,  I  remember  about  her," 
Nanny  said.  "  She  was  a  poor  little  Irish  child 
that  the  Nortons  adopted,  was  n't  she  ?  " 

"Yes,"  and  a  little  color  rose  in  Thurston's 
face ;  "  but  she  will  marry  a  gentleman,  you 
will  see." 

"  Think  so  ?  "  Nanny's  tone  sounded  as  if  she 
thought  it  was  doubtful. 

I  hinted  that  a  million  dollars  might  make  any 
man  forget  a  girl's  origin. 

"  It  never  would  make  you  forget  it,"  said 
Nanny,  a  little  sharply,  I  thought. 

"  We  must  wait  for  the  future  to  answer  that,"  I 
said,  seating  myself  at  the  table  without  asking 
Thurston  to  join  me. 

"  I  suppose  you  heard  I  flunked  at  Cam- 
bridge ? "  Thurston  evidently  had  a  desire  to 
change  the  subject. 

"  That  is  nothing,"  I  hastened  to  say,   as  the 


12  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

blood  mounted  his  frank  face.  "  You  are  not  out 
of  your  teens  yet.  There  's  time  enough  for  you." 

"  That  may  be,"  he  returned,  laughing ;  "  but 
after  being  promised  at  a  high-priced  seance,  by 
the  spirit  of  Daniel  Webster,  that  I  should  pull 
through,  it  rather  shook  my  faith  in  Webster,  as 
well  as  myself." 

"  I  think  that  was  rather  shabby  in  Webster, 
don't  you,  Nanny  ?  "  As  she  made  no  reply,  I  con- 
tinued :  "  Since  my  delirium,  Thurston,  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  become  a  genuine  psychical 
researcher.  A  fearless  investigator !  " 

"Investigator!"  Nanny  exclaimed,  in  the  most 
contemptuous  tone.  "  You  investigate  anything  at 
present  but  lunch  tables,  and  you  will  find  yourself 
in  an  asylum." 

"  I  have  always  felt  that  if  I  could  only  get  pre- 
sented to  some  genuine  ghosts  perhaps  I  might  be- 
come popular  with  them,"  said  I,  turning  to 
Thurston,  and  ignoring  Nanny's  last  remark. 

"  O,  I  am  sure  of  it,"  he  said,  encouragingly. 
"How  could  you  help  it?  Think  how  near  the 
grave  you  Ve  been  —  why,  I  suppose  they  almost 
counted  you  among  them." 

"  That 's  a  great  way  to  talk  !  "  I  exclaimed. 
"The  doctor  ordered  only  cheerful  subjects  for 
me." 

"  If  dodging  the  grave  isn't  a  cheerful  subject,  I 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  13 

don't  know  what  is,''  said  Thurston ;  "  but  eat 
your  luncheon  now." 

"  And  when  the  luncheon  is  gone  I  really  want 
something  new.  Thurston,  I  must  be  amused  and 
forget  reality  for  a  time." 

"  Come  to  The  Poplars,"  said  he,  warmly. 
"  Come  and  see  your  grandmother,  as  large  as  life 
and  twice  as  natural,  poking  her  head  through  a 
window  a  foot  and  a  half  square,  and  then  by  de- 
grees coming  out  at  you  entirely  ;  not  a  rib  nor  an 
ounce  missing !  " 

"It  would  be  an  awful  strain  on  a  window 
that  size  if  my  grandmother's  dignity  could  stand 
it,  would  n't  it,  Nanny  ? "  But  my  sister  had 
left  the  room.  "  My  grandmother  weighed  two 
hundred  and  twenty  pounds  the  day  she  died, 
Thurston  !  " 

"  The  compressibility  of  ghosts  is  something 
wonderful,"  said  Thurston,  simply. 

"  But  are  they  ghosts  if  they  are  materialized  ?  " 
I  demanded.  "  It  sounds  like  a  contradiction  in 
terms ;  and  to  me  the  ghosts  of  our  grandfathers 
had  some  dignity  compared  with  the  material- 
ized spirits  that  are  handed  round  in  the  circles 
of  to-day.  There  is  as  much  difference  as  there 
is  between  the  tiger  in  his  native  jungle,  and 
the  caged  beast  in  a  menagerie.  I  only  know 
from  reading ;  but  from  all  I  have  read  or  heard 


i4  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

of  the  phenomena  of  spiritualism,  I  think  mate- 
rialization its  most  disgusting  phase." 

"  There  you  are,  you  see,  starting  with  a  preju- 
dice ! "  Thurston  exclaimed.  "  If  you  are  going  to 
investigate,  you  must  agree  to  drop  all  prejudice. 
Consolation  Temple  told  me  that.  I  will  give 
you  one  week  to  drop  every  prejudice  that  you 
hold." 

"  You  will  allow  me  a  grain  of  common  sense, 
won't  you  ? "  I  begged. 

"  Not  one  particle,"  he  declared  ;  "  why,  common 
sense  in  an  investigator  is  as  damaging  as  white 
light  in  a  photographer's  dark  room.  If  you  come 
to  The  Poplars  next  week  you  leave  all  common 
sense  behind." 

"  You  leave  all  common  sense  behind  ! "  I  Re- 
peated the  words  many  times  in  the  seven  days 
which  followed  Thurston  Moore's  visit. 

"  I  am  sure  it  will  do  you  good  to  go,"  said 
Nanny,  the  evening  before  the  day  set  for  my  visit 
to  The  Poplars.  "  I  have  felt  sorry  to  have  any 
feeling  but  that  of  friendship  towards  mother's 
oldest  friend ;  I  shall  always  like  her  and  I  shall 
never  forget  the  delightful  times  I  had  at  her 
house  when  I  was  a  child ;  but  her  new  ideas  to 
me  are  simply  disgusting." 

"  How  do  you  know  what  her  ideas  are  ? "  I 
inquired,  a  little  petulantly. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  15 

"  She  has  all  sorts  of  people  at  her  house.  We 
know  that."  Nanny  spoke  very  positively. 

"  They  may  interest  her.  It  does  n't  follow  that 
she  accepts  all  their  ideas." 

"  Never  mind,  you  must  not  accept  them  be- 
cause you  visit  her." 

"  They  couldn't  be  any  worse  than  some  of  my 
own  have  been  lately." 

"  Forget  all  that  you  have  suffered,  dear.  Go  away 
and  be  amused  —  the  change  will  do  you  good,  and 
everything  will  look  brighter  when  you  get  back. 
I  am  not  afraid  to  trust  you  even  at  The  Poplars." 

"  After  a  man  has  passed  a  few  weeks  in  the 
delirium  of  typhoid  fever,  Nan,  I  tell  you  he  feels 
a  new  interest  in  psychical  phenomena."  I  saw 
her  looking  at  me  with  troubled  eyes.  "  You  were 
never  very  sick,  were  you  ? " 

"  No,"  she  answered,  with  a  sigh. 

"  After  you  have  been  shut  away  from  the  world 
awhile  you  have  no  idea  how  petty  and  mean  many 
things  appear  when  you  come  back.  Perhaps  you 
don't  understand  me  — 

"  No,  I  am  sure  I  don't ;  and  I  don't  care  any- 
thing about  metaphysics  any  way.  I  am  only 
anxious  to  get  you  well,  and  staying  in  the  city 
until  Tom  and  I  can  go  away  is  not  going  to 
do  it." 

"  We    have    never    visited    Mrs.    Moore   since 


1 6  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

mother  died,  Nanny.  If  I  were  not  bankrupt  and 
ill,  should  I  think  of  going  there  now  ?  There,  it  is 
out !  Where  are  your  metaphysics  there  ? " 

"  Or,"  she  returned,  coolly,  "  if  you  were  in 
Europe  on  your  wedding  tour,  you  probably  would 
not  have  been  invited.  And  you  might  have  been, 
John  Hardy.  You  might  have  had  a  fortune  and 
one  of  the  sweetest  girls  in  Boston ;  and  better 
than  all  that,  one  of  good  family." 

"  No,  you  are  mistaken,"  I  said,  calmly,  "  if  you 
are  thinking  of  Dora  Salem.  She  has  much  more 
self-respect  than  either  you  or  I  gave  her  credit 
for  possessing.  I  envy  the  man  who  marries  her, 
because  he  will  care  for  her;  and  if  it  is  any  grati- 
fication to  you  to  know  that  she  could  have  bought 
your  brother,  but  would  not,  it  is  a  pleasure  I  will 
not  deny  you." 

She  paled  a  little,  and  a  flash  of  anger  shot 
through  her  handsome  blue  eyes.  "  It  would  be 
taking  an  advantage  of  you  to  tell  you  what  I 
think  while  you  are  weak ;  but  when  you  are  strong, 
I  will  do  it." 

"  I  know  your  ideas  very  well,  Nan.  Am  I  not 
quite  ready  to  marry  for  money  ?  But  I  will  never 
marry  a  true  lady  for  her  fortune,  if  I  ever  find  my- 
self enabled  to  do  it." 

"John  Hardy,  do  you  suppose  I  would  ask  you 
to  marry  for  mere  money  ! "  She  spoke  wrathfully 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  1 7 

now.  "  But  suppose  that  you  could  do  such  a 
thing,  remember  the  more  commonplace  the 
woman,  the  more  terrible  would  be  your  punish- 
ment. You  are  the  worst  kind  of  a  sentimentalist. 
The  truth  is,  you  are  waiting  for  that  which  will 
never  come  to  you,  John  Harding,  never !  I  am 
older  than  you,  and  I  tell  you  this  grand  passion 
we  read  of  is  only  granted  to  geniuses  and  fools ; 
and  you  are  neither.  If  Dora  Salem  has  ever 
refused  your  hand,  it  is  because  you  offered  it 
most  awkwardly." 

"  I  did  not  say  that  I  had  ever  offered  it." 

"  But  you  implied  it." 

"  I  told  her  all  about  breaking  my  engagement 
with  Jeannette,  just  as  if  it  was  the  story  of  an- 
other man,  and  asked  her  what  she  would  think  of 
such  a  fellow ;  and  she  said  she  could  only  despise 
him.  'He  is  your  humble  servant,'  said  I,  and  I 
would  have  gone  on  and  said  a  great  deal  more, 
but  she  excused  herself  and  left  the  room.  I 
thought  no  woman  could  lose  an  opportunity  of 
refusing  a  man ;  but  Dora  Salem  would  not  listen 
to  a  man  she  did  not  respect." 

"  I  said,  John,  that  nothing  should  lead  me  to 
talk  with  you  until  you  are  well.  Go  away  and 
stay  a  few  weeks,  and  when  you  come  back,  bring 
your  reason  with  you,  and  we  can  talk  to  some 
purpose."  She  left  the  room,  and  when  she  came 
back  we  began  to  talk  again  of  the  Moores. 

2 


1 8  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

Later,  when  she  talked  with  Tom  about  my  pro- 
posed visit,  he  declared  it  to  be  "  a  first-rate  idea ;  " 
and  when  she  spoke  of  Mrs.  Moore's  eccentricities, 
he  asked  what  she  meant  by  eccentricities,  and 
Nanny  replied,  "  For  one  thing,  Dora  Salem  said 
that  when  her  brother,  Dwight,  called  there,  a  man 
was  in  the  reception  room,  and  actually  presented 
to  him,  who  wore  ridiculously  short  pantaloons, 
woollen  stockings,  and  cowhide  shoes ;  and  he  had 
hay  in  his  hair." 

"  If  the  poor  man  had  known  what  an  ass 
Dwight  was,  he  never  would  have  dared  to  be  pre- 
sented to  him  with  hay  in  his  hair  for  fear  of  los- 
ing his  head,"  said  Tom. 

I  laughed  so  hard  I  had  to  be  put  to  bed.  This 
made  Nanny  angry,  for  she  worships  the  Salems. 
She  could  excuse  Tom  because  he  was  not  a  Bos- 
ton man  and  had  only  learned  since  his  marriage 
what  families  had  halos.  He  said  when  he  first 
came  to  the  Hub  he  always  put  a  halo  over  a 
pretty  face,  but  invariably  had  to  take  it  down. 
But  Tom  has  his  good  points,  if  he  did  happen  to 
be  born  west  of  the  Alleghanies;  and  if  he  had 
been  appointed  my  guardian  for  life,  it  would  have 
been  my  own  money,  instead  of  his.  which  he  left 
on  the  bed  when  he  said  good-night,  and  hoped  I 
should  get  off  all  right  the  next  day. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  19 


CHAPTER    II. 

IT  was  a  grand  old  place,  the  home  of  Thurston 
Moore.  It  had  taken  its  name  from,  to  me, 
its  least  attractive  feature,  a  row  of  five  Lom- 
bardy  poplars,  standing  a  few  yards  from  the  front 
door. 

It  had  been  the  home  of  pride  and  courteous 
prejudice  for  generations ;  but  Time,  that  old 
satirist,  who  is  always  insisting  upon  new  deals 
and  waggish  changes,  threw  it  into  the  hands  of 
Josiah  Moore,  a  man  who  appreciated  it  simply 
for  its  market  value. 

Madam  Rumor  said  that  Moore  had  been  a  hard 
man,  who  had  oppressed  many  in  his  time ;  and 
this  same  free-tongued  dame  even  included  his  wife 
in  the  number.  At  his  death,  his  widow  transformed 
the  old  house  into  a  modern  mansion,  and  then 
Madam  Rumor  said  that  no  one  was  too  poor,  or 
too  despised,  to  find  a  welcome  there. 

Nanny  had  a  friend  who  was  a  descendant  of 
the  old  merchant  who  had  built  the  house,  and  she 


2o  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

told  Nanny  that  if  her  ancestor  could  know  the  kind 
of  people  Mrs.  Moore  entertained  in  his  house,  he 
would  turn  over  in  his  tomb.  But  at  the  same 
time  Madam  Rumor  said  that  it  was  claimed  by 
a  friend  of  Mrs.  Moore's  that  this  same  old  ances- 
tor had  not  only  turned  over  in  his  tomb,  but  had 
come  out  of  it  entirely  and  encouraged  the  lady  in 
the  desecration  of  the  place. 

When  these  reports  reached  Nanny,  she  always 
expressed  herself  in  her  positive  way.  As  I  lay 
back  in  the  old  depot  carriage,  as  it  passed 
through  the  long  avenue  of  budding  trees,  which 
stopped  abruptly  before  reaching  the  house,  as  if 
to  give  the  full  weight  of  value  to  the  ghostly 
poplars,  I  felt  accountable  for  all  Nanny  had  said, 
added  to  the  weight  of  all  that  had  remained  un- 
expressed, in  my  own  mind,  and  a  flush  of  shame 
came  for  a  moment  to  my  cheeks.  But  I  eased 
my  conscience  as  the  carriage  stopped  by  promis- 
ing, if  occasion  offered,  to  make  a  clean  breast  of 
it  to  Mrs.  Moore. 

The  warm  May  sunshine  shone  with  almost  the 
fervor  of  summer  upon  the  broad  piazza,  where  a 
man  was  swinging  gently  in  a  hammock. 

When  the  carriage  stopped,  he  turned  his  head 
in  a  sleepy  manner,  but  did  not  stop  swinging. 

The  driver,  a  clear-headed  boy,  after  he  had  put 
down  my  travelling  bag,  stopped  and  looked  as  if 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  21 

he  had  some  idea  of  speaking  to  the  man  in  the 
hammock,  or  expected  a  remark  from  him ;  but 
neither  spoke,  and  he  returned  to  the  carriage. 

As  he  took  up  the  reins,  the  man  threw  out  one 
leg  from  the  hammock  as  if  it  had  been  a  grappling 
iron  and  said  iu  a  drawling,  nasal  tone,  "  Wait  a 
minute,  sir." 

The  boy  drew  in  his  horse  violently  and  leaned 
out  over  the  wheel  expectantly. 

"  I  am  going  to  lecture  next  week  in  Peoria," 
drawled  the  man. 

"  Well,  you  '11  have  darn  good  luck  if  you  pay 
expenses !  "  Nothing  could  exceed  the  velocity 
with  which  the  words  were  spoken.  At  the  same 
instant  the  boy  withdrew  his  head,  and  giving  his 
horse  a  stinging  cut  with  his  long  whip,  turned  so 
suddenly  I  expected  to  see  the  carriage  overturned. 

When  he  had  disappeared  the  man  drew  in  his 
grapple  and  said,  "  I  owe  that  boy  fifty  cents  for 
bringing  Consolation,  and  me,  and  the  babies  up 
here  one  night  when  it  rained."  Then,  as  he  saw  me 
reach  for  the  door-bell,  he  continued  in  the  same 
tone,  "  Mrs.  Moore  has  gone  away ;  there  is  no- 
body in  the  house  but  the  hired  girls,  and  the 
black  man.  Maria  Williams  has  gone  out  to 
walk." 

I  felt  that  I  had  made  a  mistake  in  coming  to 
The  Poplars.  I  was  not  so  strong  as  I  had  imag- 


22  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

ined.  I  dropped  into  the  nearest  chair  and 
looked  down  and  saw  my  legs  tremble ;  but  worse 
than  that,  the  words  "  Maria  Williams  has  gone 
out  to  walk,"  kept  repeating  themselves  over  and 
over  in  my  mind,  in  the  same  drawling,  nasal  tone 
this  man  had  used,  and  I  closed  my  eyes  in  help- 
less misery. 

"  I  thought  that  vehicle  was  going  to  overturn, 
didn't  you?"  he  inquired,  still  swinging  gently. 

I  felt  obliged  to  answer  and  said,  "  I  had  for- 
gotten the  carriage." 

"  Light  minds  move  rapidly,"  he  drawled. 
"  Have  n't  you  seen  a  woman  keep  track  of  every- 
thing that  was  taking  place  in  a  large  room  full  of 
people  ?  May  be  you  have  a  woman's  mind.  Well, 
sir,  if  that  vehicle  had  overturned,  and  had  been 
demolished,  do  you  think  that  I  ought  to  be  held 
responsible  for  its  demolition  ?  " 

I  felt  confident  now  that  my  delirium  had  re- 
turned. I  remembered  just  such  creatures  as 
this  man.  If  I  did  not  answer  him  he  would  give 
me  another  question,  perhaps  more  difficult,  and 
I  said,  "  Why  should  you  pay  for  it  ?  " 

"  When  I  called  out  '  wait ! »  that  boy  thought  I 
was  going  to  pay  him  the  fifty  cents  I  owed  him  ; 
he  was  disappointed;  the  revulsion  of  feeling 
caused  him  to  bring  about  a  natural  state  in  har- 
mony with  his  mental  state :  if  his  precipitation 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  23 

had  produced  a  casualty,  I  should  have  been  the 
primitive  cause,  and,  by  consequence,  responsible. 

"  It  is  next  week,"  I  thought;  "  I  am  in  Peoria. 
I  am  hearing  his  lecture.  No,  I  am  mistaken. 
He  says  now,  'Maria  Williams  is  coming  back 
from  her  walk.'  I  heard  a  light  step  upon  the 
gravel  walk,  and  a  moment  later  a  faded,  but 
still  handsome  woman  walked  up  the  steps.  She 
was  tall,  and  I  thought  a  little  thin,  and  the  first 
law  of  nature  suggested  to  me  that  if  she  were  a 
guest  at  The  Poplars  there  might  be  a  crossing  of 
gastronomic  swords ;  but  I  felt  a  little  ashamed  of 
this  when  she  came  towards  me  with  the  most 
hospitable  manner  and  said,  "This  is  Mr.  Hardy, 
I  am  sure,  and  Mrs.  Moore  has  driven  in  town 
to  bring  you  out.  How  long  have  you  been 
"here  ? " 

I  said  I  had  but  just  arrived,  and  made  an 
effort  to  stand  well  and  not  look  hungry. 

"  You  must  be  very  tired,"  she  said,  kindly.  "  Let 
us  go  in  and  get  some  wine." 

She  took  up  my  travelling  bag,  and  while  I 
made  a  few  vain  attempts  to  take  it  from  her,  the 
man  in  the  hammock  drawled  out,  "  How  do  you 
do,  Maria  Williams?  " 

She  turned  in  surprise  and  exclaimed,  "Why, 
Emmanuel  Temple!  Did  n't  you  get  my  letter  ?" 

"  Yes,  Maria  Williams,  I  got  your  letter,  but  we 


24  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

have  had  a  notice  to  leave  the  house  to-day.  Con- 
solation went  to  give  a  lecture  before  the  Think- 
ing Woman's  Temperance  and  Ethical  Society; 
and  Mrs.  Powers,  a  new  boarder,  said  she  would 
take  care  of  the  babies  while  she  was  gone.  I 
thought  Mrs.  Moore's  advice  would  be  the  best 
thing  I  could  have  —  or  yours." 

She  smiled  and  said,  "  Let  us  go  in,  Mr.  Hardy, 
and  you  lie  down  in  the  library  while  I  get  some 
wine  and  biscuits." 

I  could  not  conceal  the  fatigue  the  little  jaunt 
had  given  me,  and  her  simple,  kindly  manner  made 
me  cease  to  make  the  effort.  I  was  glad  to  lie 
down  upon  a  comfortable  lounge,  and  think  of 
my  wine  and  biscuits. 

"  The  idea,"  she  said,  "  of  sitting  out  there  with 
nothing  to  eat  after  riding  so  far!  Mrs.  Moore  will 
regret  very  much  that  I  was  away." 

"  Then  you  know,  madam,  the  fiend  that  ac- 
companies a  convalescent." 

"  If  you  have  come  possessed  of  only  one  fiend," 
she  said,  laughing,  as  she  arranged  a  little  table  be- 
side the  lounge,  "  I  am  sure  we  can  exorcise  him." 

"  Only  one,  I  promise  you,  madame,  only  one ; 
but  such  a  fiend !  If  you  drive  him  away  at  four 
o'clock,  he  returns  at  five  as  powerful  as  ever." 

While  I  spoke  I  looked  up  and  saw  Emmanuel 
Temple  standing  in  the  doorway.  I  begged  her 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  25 

not  to  remain  with  me  while  he  seemed  anxious  to 
speak  with  her. 

"  Come  .in,"  she  said,  smiling  pleasantly.  "  It 
seems  a  little  absurd  to  introduce  two  people  one 
finds  sitting  and  talking  together  on  a  piazza,  but 
as  Mr.  Temple  is  rather  conventional,  let  me  pre- 
sent you,  Mr.  Hardy." 

"  Maria  Williams  can  find  ludicrosity  anywhere, 
Mr.  Hardy.  A  direct  misstatement  she  thinks  a 
joke.  I  hold  no  respect  for  conventionality.  Con- 
ventionality is  a  chain  that  will  fit  itself  round  the 
neck  and  heels  of  any  one  who  will  bear  it.  Peo- 
ple complain  when  it  hurts,  or  grows  heavy ;  but 
they  won't  take  it  off." 

"  There  is  much  truth  in  what  Mr.  Temple  says, 
Mr.  Hardy.  At  this  moment  you  know  that  we  both 
have  the  kindest  sympathy  for  your  illness,  and  yet 
you  wait  to  have  us  beg  you  to  eat  before  you  faint 
away."  Without  waiting  for  me  to  reply,  she 
turned  and  said,  "  Emmanuel  Temple,  could  you 
have  misunderstood  my  letter?  " 

"  No,"  he  said,  calmly.  "  The  nature  of  it  was 
anything  but  complex.  You  did  not  want  me  to 
come  here  because  Mrs  Moore's  sister-in-law  was 
coming." 

"  Then  you  did  understand  it?  " 

"  Perfectly.  You  write  a  very  direct  and  com- 
prehensive letter,  Maria  Williams." 


26  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  Not  comprehensive  enough  to  be  effectual,  it 
seems,"  she  returned  gently. 

"  Paul,  the  greatest  epistolary  genius  of  the 
world,  couldn't  control  circumstances,  Maria.  I 
do  not  claim  with  Ebenezer  Samson  that  the  world 
owes  me  a  living,  although  I  think  there  should  be 
no  alimentary  produce  remaining  in  anybody's 
possession  unappropriated,  while  any  animal,  from 
man  down  to  the  lowest  mammal,  requires  sus- 
tenance." 

"  It  seems  to  me  no- one  could  disagree  with  you, 
sir,"  said  I,  taking  up  a  fine  bunch  of  Hamburgs. 

"  Maria  Williams  does."  He  did  not  seem  the 
least  offended.  He  said  this  in  precisely  the  same 
tone  he  had  said,  "  Maria  Williams  has  gone  to 
walk." 

The  lady  laughed,  and  after  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion said,  "  I  agree  with  you,  Mr.  Temple  ;  but 
hospitality  should  never  be  garroted." 

I  looked  for  a  shade  of  embarrassment  or  a 
flush  of  anger  on  his  swarthy  cheek,  but  saw 
neither. 

"  I  told  Consolation  only  this  morning,"  he  said 
-simply,  "  that  I  was  not  ashamed  to  apply  to  the 
city  for  assistance  ;  I  had  not  a  cent  in  the  world, 
and  she  had  only  two  car  fares,  and  she  was 
expected  to  go  down  to  the  Boston  and  Maine  sta- 
tion. She  hopes  to  get  her  expenses  for  the  lecture, 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  27 

and  she  said  she  should  claim  enough  to  bring  her 
here." 

For  an  instant  I  thought  the  lady  was  vexed.  I 
am  sure  now  she  was  not  in  the  least.  She  rested 
her  head  upon  her  hand,  leaning  her  elbow  upon 
the  broad  arm  of  the  chair.  After  a  moment's 
reflection  she  said  :  "  I  have  an  idea,  Mr.  Temple, 
and  if  Mr.  Hardy  will  excuse  me  a  few  minutes  I 
will  walk  down  to  the  gate  with  you." 

He  arose  and  followed  her  out  of  the  room  with- 
out so  much  as  a  nod  at  me.  He  was  wholly 
absorbed  in  Maria  Williams'  idea. 

I  had  said  to  my  fiend,  when  he  saw  the  amount 
of  fruit  and  biscuits  which  had  been  brought  to 
me  :  "  A  civilized  man  would  eat  perhaps  a  third  of 
what  is  there  ;  you  may  have  one  half." 

When  Maria  Williams  and  Mr.  Temple  left  me 
I  hastily  ate  every  biscuit  upon  the  table,  and 
while  my  self-respect  cried,  "  Shame  !  "  I  finished 
the  last  grape. 

Yet  no  one  could  look  more  guiltless  of  gluttony 
than  I  as  I  hastened,  at  the  sound  of  wheels  upon 
the  gravel  drive,  to  seat  myself  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  table  which  bore  the  tray  containing  the 
empty  plates. 

I  glanced  out  of  the  window  and  saw  Mrs. 
Moore  leaving  the  carriage,  accompanied  by  a 
prim  little  woman  of  middle  age  and  a  young  girl. 


28  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

The  latter  was  becomingly  dressed  and  had  beau- 
tiful red-gold  hair. 

They  came  immediately  into  the  library,  and 
after  a  welcome  from  Mrs.  Moore,  which  recalled 
the  last  time  I  had  visited  there  with  my  mother 
when  I  was  a  growing  lad,  I  was  presented  to  the 
other  ladies.  Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  sister  of  the  late 
Josiah  Moore,  was  the  wife  of  a  clergyman;  a 
hard-working,  honest  man,  who  received  a  meagre 
salary  for  telling  his  congregation  every  Sunday 
and  every  Wednesday  evening  at  prayer  meeting 
that  all  pleasure  was  sin.  It  was  seldom  Mrs. 
Hardcreeder  visited  The  Poplars  since  her  brother's 
death ;  but  regularly  Mrs.  Moore  wrote  and  invited 
her,  and  always  added  a  postscript  to  the  effect 
that  during  her  visit  no  obnoxious  person  should 
be  permitted  to  darken  the  doors. 

The  word  obnoxious  was  a  favorite  word  of  Mrs. 
Hardcreeder's,  and  applied  to  any  one  who  enter- 
tained any  ideas  which  she  did  not.  As  her  nat- 
ural endowment  was  singularly  limited,  it  was  not 
strange  that  many  of  the  visitors  at  The  Poplars 
came  under  the  head  of  obnoxious.  Her  small, 
dark  eyes  travelled  restlessly  from  my  pale  face 
down  to  my  boots;  and  the  worst  verdict  she 
could  pronounce,  I  am  sure,  was  the  same  she  had 
brought  against  Miss  Clara  Norton,  as  they  drove 
together  from  the  city  with  Mrs.  Moore :  "  worldly 
and  frivolous." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  29 

It  was  with  pleasure  that  I  looked  from  her  hard, 
little  face  to  the  fair  face  of  Clara  Norton,  who 
immediately  after  the  introduction  took  a  seat  very 
near  me. 

Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  whose  blood  was  thin,  sat  by 
the  open  fire,  for  she  said  towards  evening  it  was 
still  a  little  chill.  At  intervals  she  turned  towards 
her  sister-in-law,  with  a  protesting  look,  but  said 
nothing. 

We  were  talking  of  Thurston  when  suddenly  she 
turned,  with  her  small  mouth  pursed  to  such  a 
degree  it  was  a  wonder  a  word  could  make  its 
escape,  and  said,  "  I  did  not  expect  to  find  Maria 
Williams  here:  wasn't  that  Maria  Williams  I 
saw  standing  with  that  obnoxious  person  at  the 
gate  ?  " 

Mrs.  Moore  smiled,  a  broad  and  patient  smile. 
"Yes,"  she  replied,  "that  was  Maria." 

"  From  your  letter,  I  did  not  expect  to  find  her 
here." 

"  I  don't  know  why  not,  as  this  is  her  home," 
said  Mrs.  Moore,  gently. 

Mrs.  Hardcreeder  became  a  little  pale,  and  her 
small  features  seemed  to  disappear ;  her  back  grew 
rigid,  and  she  clutched  her  black  silk  as  ruthlessly 
as  if  it  had  been  one  of  her  cheap  gowns.  "  How 
do  you  think  Josiah  would  like  to  have  a  —  a  free 
thinker  in  his  house,  finding  a  home  there  ! " 


30  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"This  is  my  house,"  said  Mrs.  Moore,  mildly. 

"Then  you  have  forgotten  my  poor,  dear 
brother,  already ! " 

"I  doubt  if  I  ever  forget  Josiah,"  said  the 
widow,  with  a  peculiar  smile. 

"  But  you  ignore  his  wishes." 

"What  were  his  wishes?  I  mean  any  that  I 
have  ignored." 

"You  are  bound  not  to  understand  me,  Sara 
Jackson."  Whenever  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  felt  that 
her  trials  had  reached  a  point  beyond  endurance, 
she  always  addressed  her  sister-in-law  by  her 
maiden  name.  "  You  know  very  well  what  I 
mean  !  You  know  as  well  as  I  that  Josiah  Moore 
hated  anything  free  —  excepting  his  country;  and 
now  his  house  is  an  asylum  for  any  blasphemer, 
man  or  woman,  who  happens  to  be  too  lazy  to 
work." 

"  After  living  twenty-five  years  with  a  man  who 
hated  anything  free,  are  you  surprised  that  I  like 
a  little  freedom,  Susannah  ? " 

"  Whatever  were  Josiah's  faults,  he  was  a  God- 
fearing man,"  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  declared,  "and 
he  had  no  sympathy  with  blasphemers !  " 

"  There  is  no  doubt  of  that,"  Mrs.  Moore  ad- 
mitted gently,  "  and  Josiah  lived  his  life  as  he  saw 
fit ;  I  simply  claim  the  privilege  —  now  that  he  is 
gone  — of  living  as  I  see  fit." 


A  Fear/ess  Investigator.  31 

"  But  you  do  like  all  sorts  of  people."  said  Miss 
Norton,  taking  a  low  seat  at  Mrs.  Moore's  side, 
"  and  you  taught  me  to  look  for  something  inter- 
esting in  everybody,"  and  her  impulsive  soul  looked 
out  of  her  great  eyes  in  admiration  at  Mrs.  Moore. 
"  I  try  to  feel  towards  people  just  as  you  do  —  I 
admire  it,  but  I  can't  do  it.  I  detest  people  with 
loose  screws  in  their  brains.  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  is 
half  right  when  she  calls  this  an  asylum.  Mamma 
pretends  I  am  not  well  and  she  gets  Mrs.  Moore 
to  invite  me  here  and  keep  a  strict  eye  upon  me. 
Are  you  sent  here  to  have  a  strict  eye  kept  upon 
you,  Mr.  Hardy?" 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  seriously ;  "  I  am  possessed  of  a 
terrible  fiend." 

"  How  interesting !  I  always  thought  it  would 
be  delightful  to  go  to  a  private  asylum  where  all 
the  inmates  would  be  ladies  and  gentlemen." 

"  I  thought  you  detested  people  with  mental 
screws  loose." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Hardy,  nothing  is  so  disagreeable  in 
a  pleasant  chat  as  having  to  trot  back  and  see  if 
you  have  dropped  any  conversational  stitches." 

"  But  you  would  like  to  be  consistent,"  I  sug- 
gested, mildly  enough. 

"It  makes  no  difference  whether  I  would  like  to 
be  or  not,  I  cannot.  There  are  some  people  who 
can  mould  themselves  after  any  pattern  they  ad- 


32  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

mire ;  I  can't.  I  am  just  as  God  made  me  twenty 
and  one  years  ago.  Hark!  There's  Thurston ; 
he  never  asks  anybody  to  be  consistent.  How  I 
like  that  boy!"  and  she  ran  to  meet  him,  her 
cheeks  flushed  and  it  seemed  to  me  with  a  very 
affectionate  light  in  her  large  eyes. 

It  has  been  said  that  no  unmarried  woman  ever 
looked  upon  an  eligible,  unmarried  man  without 
dreaming  of  possibilities.  Certainly  for  a  year  I 
had  not  looked  upon  a  young,  unmarried  woman 
without  thinking  of  a  wife.  We  will  not  say, 
"  dreaming  of  possibilities,"  because  that  seems 
almost  to  enter  the  realm  of  the  ideal,  and  my 
thoughts  were  all  practical  to  the  last  degree. 

I  found  myself  wondering  how  Nanny  would  like 
Miss  Norton,  when  Thurston  entered  with  her  on 
one  arm  and  Maria  Williams  on  the  other. 

"  Here  you  are  then,  all  right ! "  he  cried  as  he 
saw  me.  "  I  went  for  you,  and  I  understood  that 
you  would  drive  out  with  me  and  you  came  out  all 
alone.  Hard  luck !  How  do  you  feel,  old  man  ? 
You  look  better  already.  Honor  bright!  Why, 
there 's  aunt  Susannah  !  Now  this  is  worth  coming 
home  to  see.  Religion  and  respectability  meeting 
once  more  under  our  benighted  roof !  " 

Maria  Williams  had  gone  directly  to  Mrs.  Hard- 
creeder,  but  that  indignant  lady  had  hardly  deigned 
to  bend  her  little  walnut  head  in  recognition  of  the 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  33 

courtesy ;  but  she  turned  towards  her  nephew  with 
almost  a  smile  as  he  came  to  embrace  her. 

"  Why,  it  is  a  long  time  since  you  were  here, 
Aunt  Susannah  !  Why  don't  you  come  oftener  ? 
But  I  don't  see  old  Protoplasm.  The  boy  at  the 
station  said  he  was  here  ;  I  stopped  to  see  if  John 
—  Mr.  Hardy  —  came  up  all  right.  You  remem- 
ber your  friend,  don't  you,  Auntie,  who  tried  to 
prove  to  you  that  Adam  was  a  monkey  ?  Well, 
never  mind,  how  's  Uncle  Calvin  ?  " 

Mrs.  Hardcreeder  bristled  a  little,  but  presently 
said  calmly.  "  Your  uncle  is  about  as  usual." 

"  I  tell  you  he  is  too  good  a  man  to  be  getting 
bronchitis  from  pounding  the  dust  out  of  that  old 
pulpit  cushion  at  eight  hundred  a  year.  By  Jove, 
I  shall  never  forget  the  day  I  met  him  coming  from 
Cambridge,  the  day  I  flunked.  I  don't  know  what 
he  said,  but  I  said,  'Oh!  go  to  the  devil!'  He 
did  n't  go,  but  just  walked  along  with  me  without 
saying  a  word;  but  there  was  something  in  his 
good  old  jog  that  made  me  feel  a  little  ashamed, 
but  I  wouldn't  say  so.  He  kept  right  on  beside 
me,  till  his  car  came  along ;  then  he  said,  '  Thurs- 
ton,  dear  boy,  I  '11  pray  for  you  ! '  " 

"  He  did,"  said  Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  a  little  stiffly. 
"  He  even  brought  it  up  when  he  said  grace  at  the 
table,  which  I  told  him  I  thought  was  out  of  place." 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,"  cried  Thurston ;  "  that  only 
3 


34  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

shows  how  honest  he  is  !  And  if  he  gets  me  in 
the  next  time,  he  shall  have  the  best  silk  hat  in 
the  city  of  Boston,  and  a  new  sermon  case  that 
will  make  every  other  minister  in  the  town  resign." 

Mrs.  Hardcreeder  thawed  out  another  little 
smile,  which  congealed  immediately  as  she  thought 
of  sitting  in  the  same  room  with  Maria  Williams. 

"  The  schooner  Emma  Liz  sailed  in  the  gate 
just  ahead  of  me,  Clara,"  said  Thurston,  seating 
himself  beside  me,  "  and  her  face  looked  like  a 
happy  sunset,  when  I  told  her  that  you  were  here." 

"  Emma  Lizzie  Holt  is  a  very  nice,  respectable 
girl,"  said  Mrs.  Hardcreeder. 

"  Thurston  does  not  mean  anything  disrespectful, 
Susannah,"  returned  Mrs.  Moore,  quickly. 

"  Why,  no  indeed,"  Thurston  exclaimed.  "  Emma 
Liz  and  I  have  been  friends  from  infancy.  'T  was 
that  wicked  Clara  Norton  who  taught  me  to  call 
her  the  '  Emma  Liz,'  and  when  she  bears  down 
upon  you  in  one  of  her  stiff-starched  calicoes,  do 
you  call  it  ?  she  does  remind  you  of  a  schooner 
under  full  sail,  just  as  Clara,  when  she  pulls  her 
about,  reminds  you  of  a  trim  little  tug.  Oh,  Clara, 
do  you  remember  the  night  we  went  down  to  the 
farmhouse  to  see  old  Miss  Kimball  go  into  a 
trance?  Come  over  here  and  tell  Mr.  Hardy 
about  it." 

"There  are  things  you  cannot  describe,"  said 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  35 

Miss  Norton,  taking  a  chair  near  us ;  "  but  perhaps 
if  Mr.  Hardy  is  very  good,  and  goes  to  bed  early, 
and  gets  strong,  the  Emma  Liz  will  let  us  all  go 
over  some  night  and  see  her  aunt  and  old  Miss 
Kimball." 

"  I  should  think  it  would  be  much  more  to  your 
credit  if  all  of  you  young  people  joined  and  helped 
Emma  Lizzie,  than  to  set  yourselves  against  her," 
said  Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  sharply. 

"  I  beg  of  you  don't  count  me  in  any  conspiracy, 
Mrs.  Hardcreeder,"  I  said  politely  ;  "  I  don't  dven 
know  what  they  are  talking  about." 

"  I  saw  Emma  Lizzie  a  short  time  ago  "  —  Mrs. 
Hardcreeder  was  apparently  addressing  herself  to 
some  invisible  personage  who  stood  in  the  middle 
of  the  room  —  "  and  she  was  very  much  shocked 
that  her  aunt  should  be  influenced  by  such  low  peo- 
ple and  have  them  in  the  house.  Now  I  say  it 
would  be  much  more  to  your  credit  to  help  Emma 
Lizzie  turn  these  people  out  of  doors  than  to  plan 
to  go  to  see  them.  The  devil  never  goes  straight 
through  a  field  for  a  soul,  but  round  about,  criss- 
cross, any  way  so  he  may  not  be  seen ;  and  those 
people  who  think  themselves  secure  because  they 
are  a  little  superior  to  Mrs.  Holt,  may  be  caught 
themselves.  You  don't  use  the  same  hook  to  catch 
a  cod  and  a  trout ;  but  everything  is  fish  that  falls 
into  the  devil's  net,  and  as  old  Deacon  Potter 


36  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

used  to  say, '  Though  the  devil  uses  genteeler  lines 
for  some  of  you  than  others,  he  will  cook  all  in  the 
same  pot  at  last.'  That  may  not  be  quite  so  ele- 
gant as  it  is  true.  Deacon  Potter  always  spoke 
strong." 

"  You  can  preach  almost  as  well  as  Uncle  Cal- 
vin," said  Thurston;  "but  honestly  now,  Aunt 
Susannah,  do  you  believe  the  devil  ever  baits  his 
hook  with  anything  so  harmless  as  a  '  settin '  at 
the  farmhouse,  with  poor  old  Miss  Kimball  for 
the  '  mejum '  ?  " 

"  The  Bible  says,  «  Thou  shalt  go  to  him,  but 
he  shall  not  return  to  thee,' "  said  his  aunt, 
solemnly. 

"  Yes ;  but  Consolation  Temple  says  that  a  great 
many  people  who  have  died  come  back  and  have 
to  come  back  to  be  improved.  They  come  and 
hang  round  good  people  like  you  and  Maria  Wil- 
liams," said  Thurston. 

After  several  attempts  to  speak,  so  great  was 
her  displeasure  at  hearing  her  name  coupled  with 
that  of  Maria  Williams,  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  simply 
murmured  "  Blasphemy !  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  declared  Thurston.  "  You  are 
prejudiced,  Auntie.  Only  think  how  much  a  vain 
ghost  could  improve  by  hanging  round  you ;  or 
take  a  dreadfully  profane  fellow  and  let  him  come 
back  and  stay  with  Uncle  Calvin  awhile,  and  he 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  37 

would  forget  how  to  say  anything  stronger  than 
Moses ! " 

"The  subject  is  obnoxious,"  said  Mrs.  Hard- 
creeder. 

"  A  hint  is  enough,"  said  Thurston,  and  he 
began  talking  of  his  aunt's  affairs.  Miss  Norton 
and  I  were  left  to  enjoy  a  little  tete-a-tete,  and 
Mrs.  Moore  and  Maria  Williams  went  to  sewing 
for  a  fair. 

I  found  Miss  Norton  most  excellent  company, 
quite  unlike  any  young  lady  I  had  ever  met; 
formed  by  nature  for  a  most  perfect  coquette,  and 
then  endowed  with  so  much  sincerity  that  she 
could  make  nothing  of  her  opportunities.  I  hoped 
she  would  stay  long  enough  for  me  to  make  a 
study  of  her. 

In  the  evening  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  said  she  would 
just  step  over  to  the  farmhouse  a  few  minutes  to 
see  Mrs.  Holt,  for  she  had  promised  that  lady's 
sister,  who  went  to  Mr.  Hardcreeder's  church,  that 
she  would  take  a  word  from  her  to  Mrs.  Holt,  to 
the  effect  that  if  she  did  n't  cut  all  mediums,  and 
all  investigators  of  the  devil,  she  would  cut  her  for- 
ever, although  she  was  her  sister  ten  times  over. 
Mrs.  Hardcreeder  appeared  very  anxious  to  deliver 
this  message,  and  hardly  had  she  left  the  house 
when  I  heard  voices  at  the  door,  and  immediately 
Thurston  left  the  room,  his  good-natured  face 


3  8  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

alive  with  merriment ;  and  when  he  came  back  he 
brought  with  him  Emmanuel  Temple,  and  his 
wife. 

"  We  shall  have  some  fun,"  whispered  Miss 
Norton,  as  they  entered  the  room. 

When  Consolation  Temple  sat  down  near  me,  I 
felt  a  slight  chill  in  my  back.  She  was  a  hand- 
some woman,  if  one  did  not  look  at  her  too  long. 
The  first  glance  gave  a  tall,  graceful  figure  with  a 
well-shaped  head,  dark  hair  and  perfect  eyebrows ; 
a  pallor  which  seemed  to  come  from  feeding  upon 
indigestible  ideas  rather  than  innutritious  food. 
The  mouth  was  large,  but  the  lips  thin,  and  with  a 
cold,  bloodless  look,  that  gave  one  the  idea  that  a 
smile  was  no  part  of  them,  but  was  artificial  and 
could  be  put  on  or  taken  off  with  no  regard  to  any 
inner  feeling.  Her  large  eyes  she  seldom  opened 
to  their  full  extent.  She  did  not  look  up  at  the 
person  with  whom  she  spoke,  but  raising  her  sight 
above  his  head  her  glance  slowly  descended,  and  I 
noticed  as  she  covered  me  with  a  look  that  she 
possessed  the  power  of  dilating  and  contracting 
the  pupil  of  her  eye  at  will.  I  also  felt  that  some- 
where, hid  within,  she  carried  that  which  answered 
to  the  rattles  of  the  snake,  which  I  felt  would  sound 
the  alarm  when  she  came  to  strike. 

"Maria  Williams  sent  us  to  the  farmhouse," 
said  Emmanuel  Temple,  "  and  Mrs.  Holt  was  just 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  39 

putting  the  babies  to  bed,  when  Maria  came  over 
and  said  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  was  going  to  descend 
upon  the  farmhouse,  and  we  had  better  spend  the 
evening  here.  Prejudice  complicates  human  affairs 
in  a  strange  way,  and  — 

"  'Manuel,  my  love,"  said  Consolation,  without 
drawing  her  gaze  from  me. 

"  I  'm  not  going  to  say  anything;  ask  Maria 
Williams  if  I  am,"  said  Emmanuel. 

Maria  Williams  smiled  amiably  and  asked  Con- 
solation if  she  had  enjoyed  her  lecture. 

I  drew  a  deep  breath  as  Consolation  slowly 
withdrew  her  gaze  from  my  face,  and  let  it  fall  upon 
Maria  Williams. 

"  O,  yes,"  replied  Consolation  ;  "  but  all  these 
little  societies  are  so  apt  to  fall  into  ruts,  and  then 
run  on  in  them.  Now  a  year  ago,  when  I  was 
there  I  found  many  of  the  society  diffident  about 
speaking  before  the  meeting.  I  suggested  that 
they  start  a  debate,  and  force  every  lady  there  to 
take  part.  They  have  been  debating  ever  since ; 
and  the  subject  of  the  last  meeting  was,  4  Whether 
a  short  person  has  any  moral  right  to  carry  a 
spread  umbrella  in  a  crowd  ?  ' ' 

"  That  opens  a  good  field  for  debate,  now  I  tell 
you,"  said  Thurston.  "  I  don't  see  how  you  could 
have  found  fault  with  that." 

She  put  back  her  head  a  little  and  lowered  her 


40  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

long  lashes  just  a  trifle ;  I  soon  observed  it  was 
the  only  way  she  showed  anger.  Then  she  said  in 
her  low,  unnatural  voice,  "  It  seems  to  me  as  if 
there  were  some  vital  questions  pressing  upon  the 
heart  of  woman  that  demand  answers." 

"  And  do  you  think  there  are  no  vital  questions 
pressing  upon  the  heart  of  man?"  demanded 
Thurston,  rapping  his  sturdy  chest. 

"  Man  is  at  liberty  to  settle  any  questions  he 
pleases,"  she  returned. 

"  O,  is  he  ?  "  said  Thurston.  "  I  'm  glad  to  hear 
it,  because  I  always  count  you  as  good  authority. 
But  I  tell  you,  you  make  a  great  mistake,  you  old 
girls,  when  you  talk  about  the  vital  questions  of 
woman.  You  settle  the  vital  questions  of  man, 
and  the  vital  questions  are  settled.  Suppose  you 
consider  to-night  the  vital  questions  of  John  Hardy, 
and  Thurston  Moore.  Mr.  Hardy  comes  to  us 
totally  without  prejudice,  Mrs.  Temple,  but  igno- 
rant of  many  things  that  the  world  above  has  to 
tell  him  ;  will  you  allow  yourself  to  —  to  be  instru- 
mental in  convincing  him  that  Webster  '  still 
lives'  and  will  you  tell  him  why  he  had  that 
fever  ? " 

"  No,  Thurston,"  said  Mrs.  Moore,  "  Consolation 
has  given  up  sitting  ;  it  really  injures  her,  and  you 
only  wish  to  be  amused." 

"  It  is  all  for  John,"  cried  Thurston,  "  I   want 


A  Fearless  Investigator,  41 

him  to  see  that  there  is  something  more  than  tip- 
ping tables,  and  spelling  out  your  grandmother's 
name.  I  want  Consolation  to  give  us  a  poem." 

"  I  found  the  mixed  influence  of  common  gather- 
ings so  conflicting,"  said  Consolation,  dropping  her 
eyes  again  upon  me,  "  that  I  was  forced  to  forbid 
myself  the  temptation  of  yielding  to  it.  But  here 
the  spirit  atmosphere  is  elevated,  if  not  satisfied." 

"  Good,"  said  Thurston.  "  Now  mother,  if  you 
hear  Aunt  Susannah  coming,  you  just  trot  her  into 
some  other  room.  I  told  John  that  he  should 
see  and  hear  everything,  if  he  would  come  to  The 
Poplars ;  and  if  Consolation  feels  a  poem  apiece 
being  thrust  into  her  mind  for  us,  why  we  are  ready 
to  receive." 

"  Only  don't  tell  anybody's  secrets,"  said  Miss 
Norton,  a  little  nervously. 

"  Mrs.  Temple  is  welcome  to  any  of  mine,"  I 
declared  boldly,  with  a  chill  again  at  my  back 
when  this  curious  woman's  eyes  fell  once  more 
upon  me. 

"  I  don't  think  it  is  any  more  polite  for  a  ghost  to 
be  personal,  than  it  is  for  us,"  said  Miss  Norton. 

Consolation  adjusted  her  thin  smile :  "  With 
spirit  there  is  no  disguise,"  she  said,  sweetly. 

"  It  is  all  mind  working  on  mind,  any  way," 
said  Emmanuel,  "  nothing  else,  nothing  more. 
Consolation  takes  a  thought  out  of  my  unconscious 


42  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

mind,  and  then  offers  it  to  me  as  my  grandmother, 
or  cousin,  or  possibly  Mary  Bullam,  a  girl  I  was 
going  to  marry,  only  she  died.  As  my  thought,  or 
somebody  else's  thought,  of  these  people  is  all  that 
is  left  of  them,  however  you  may  work  up  that 
thought  it  can't  hurt  them,  and  gives  them  all  the 
immortality  they  will  ever  enjoy." 

His  drawling,  monotonous  tone  seemed  to  have 
a  soothing  effect  upon  his  wife.  She  had  folded 
her  thin,  white  hands  in  her  lap  and  raised  her  eyes 
to  the  ceiling.  For  a  few  minutes  there  was  per- 
fect silence  in  the  room. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  43 


CHAPTER   III. 

"II  7 HEN  Emmanuel  Temple  said  that  his  wife 
'  *  went  to  his  unconscious  mind  and  ruth- 
lessly dragged  out  a  thought  and  gave  it  a  ghostly 
personality,  I  began  to  wish  that  I  had  left  my 
unconscious  mind  in  Boston  with  Nanny.  If 
Consolation  would  only  enter  my  conscious 
mind,  I  felt  that  I  could  be  on  my  guard;  but  I 
found  even  that  not  an  easy  thing  to  do,  and  with 
a  fear  that  the  entranced  Pythoness  might  at  that 
very  moment  be  engaged  among  the  subterranean 
recesses  of  my  being,  I  tried  to  banish  every  idea 
I  ever  had  and  make  my  mind,  as  she  travelled 
through  it,  appear  to  her  like  a  house  after  the 
tenant  has  left.  I  even  tried  to  put  a  mental  "  to 
let"  upon  my  forehead.  But  all  in  vain.  One 
image  was  ever  before  me,  —  the  face  and  the  form 
of  Jeannette  Carlton,  the  girl  I  had  loved,  but 
abandoned. 

Emmanuel  Temple  had  withdrawn  from  the  little 
half-circle  we  had  unconsciously  formed  around 
his  wife,  and,  much  to  my  astonishment,  had  thrown 
himself  upon  the  lounge  at  the  other  end  of  the 


44  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

room.  But  this  Bohemian  impertinence  did  not 
seem  to  attract  much  attention  from  the  others.  I 
saw  him  adjust  the  silken  cushions  for  his  sooty 
looking  head  and  put  up  his  heavy  feet,  aiming 
his  toes  at  the  same  place  in  the  ceiling  where  his 
wife's  great  eyes  were  turned  for  inspiration  ;  and 
while  her  bosom  gently  rose  and  fell  with  the  in- 
flowing tide  from  unseen  spheres,  his  answered  to 
an  influence  quite  as  powerful,  if  more  common- 
place. Old  Protoplasm  slept. 

After  a  moment  Consolation  lowered  her  eyes 
and  then  closed  them  for  perhaps  three  minutes. 
Then  suddenly  they  opened  wider  than  was  quite 
natural ;  but  I  felt  convinced  that  she  saw  nothing, 
for  she  said  distinctly,  looking  apparently  at  my 
thin  legs,  "  O  man  of  flesh  !  The  world  of  spirit  is 
ever  whispering  in  thine  ear ;  but  the  deaf  hear 
not  the  sea.  O  man  of  flesh,  open  thine  inner 
eyes  1  Learn  while  thou  art  here,  that  thou  mayst 
not  be  obliged  to  return  like  the  pupil  who  idles  in 
the  first  school,  and,  after  entering  the  second, 
must  return  to  study  that  which  he  ignored  in  the 
first.  Turn  not  a  deaf  ear  to  the  warnings  of 
those  who  may  help  thee." 

After  a  moment  she  turned  slowly  towards  Miss 
Norton,  and  her  voice  changed  from  a  tone  of 
philosophic  mildness  to  that  of  passionate  sad- 
ness: "We  see  thee  holding  in  thy  hand  a  white 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  45 

dove  with  crimson  drops  upon  its  breast,  —  em- 
blems of  love  and  murder." 

The  young  lady  gave  a  little  shudder,  and  said, 
"  Really,  I  think  this  spirit  needs  to  come  back  and 
learn  to  say  more  agreeable  things  to  innocent 
people."  She  laughed;  but  I  saw  that  she  felt  a 
little  nervous,  and  I  was  indignant  that  she  should 
be  so  superstitious.  I  started  to  take  a  seat  be- 
side her ;  but  Thurston  seemed  to  think,  or  pre- 
tend, that  I  might  disturb  the  harmony,  and  I 
remained  where  I  was. 

At  the  same  moment  Consolation  turned  to  me 
and  said,  "  There  is  a  spirit  present  who  wishes  to 
improvise  a  few  lines  to  you,  John  Hardy."  And 
with  a  voice  worthy  of  a  tragedy  queen,  she  recited 
the  following  lines,  which  I  learned  afterward  was 
a  tribute  from  the  ghost  of  Adah  Isaacs  Menken. 

"  He  took 

Her  love  as  if  it  were  a  thing  of  earth, 
And  beat  and  trampled  it  beneath  his  feet ; 
And  when  it  rose  again  and  crept  within 
His  reach,  again  he  struck  it  down  with  firm, 
Well-planted  blows,  and  deemed  it  dead. 

The  years 

Go  by,  and  no  one  knows  his  crime  ;  the  stain,  — 
The  crimson  stain  —  is  only  on  his  soul. 
But  when  he  comes  to  die,  a  phantom  pale 
Shall  creep  beside  his  couch,  and  when  his  spirit, 
Heavy  from  the  sins  of  earth,  shall  try  to  rise, 
This  phantom  white  shall  lend  its  wings,  and  say, 
'  Unworthy  objects  live,  and  die,  but  love 
Shall  last  forever.'  " 


46  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

Every  man  will  find  out  sooner  or  later  that  he 
is  superstitious.  As  Consolation  ceased,  I  was 
standing  once  more  at  the  little  garden  gate  of  the 
Carlton  farm  house.  The  moon  had  bathed  the 
scene  in  her  seductive,  silver  light,  —  that  light 
which  can  change  the  humblest  garden  gate  into  an 
entrance  into  Paradise.  Again  I  saw  it  all.  Again 
I  caught  the  rich  perfume  of  the  laden  rose-trees 
that  grew  each  side  the  gate.  Again  I  felt  the  pres- 
sure of  Jeannette  Carlton's  cold  little  fingers  on  the 
strong  hand  which  was  waiting  to  thrust  her  aside. 
Again  the  white  rays  of  the  moon,  that  looks  so 
coldly  on  the  pain  she  helps  to  cause,  fell  on  Jean- 
nette's  upturned  face,  white  with  the  struggle  be- 
tween her  love  and  pride;  then,  with  a  moan  so 
low  I  scarcely  heard  it,  yet  so  strong  that  it  will 
cease  only  with  my  memory,  she  bent  her  head 
and  touched  my  hand  with  her  cold  lips  and  turned 
away.  That  was  the  scene  that  came  and  would 
not  go;  and  I  felt  my  lips  grow  stiff  and  white 
with  the  pain  it  caused. 

Miss  Norton  had  raised  her  head,  and  was  look- 
ing at  me  with  a  curious  and  pitiful  look.  But 
Consolation  had  moved  toward  Thurston,  and  in 
the  voice  of  an  ill-bred  child,  said,  "You  find 
your  gold  button  ?  Me  hide  it.  Me  hide  the  old 
squaw's  thimble.  Me  not  like  old  squaw,  ough ! 
Bad  old  squaw !  " 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  47 

"  She  means  you,  mother,"  said  Thurston. 

"  No,  no,"  said  Consolation,  quickly,  "  she  good 
squaw.  Me  say  other  old  squaw,  she  go  to  other 
wigwam  to-night." 

"  You  must  not  speak  like  that  of  Aunt  Susannah," 
said  Thurston.  "  But  1  found  my  button  ;  did  you 
know  it?  You  can't  hide  it  so  I  can't  find  it." 

"  That  bad  Myrtle  tell  you  where  find  it,"  said 
Consolation,  archly. 

Then  Thurston  explained  that  The  Poplars  had 
been  haunted  for  a  long  time  by  two  little  Indian 
maidens  named  Myrtle  and  Thistle.  The  first  was  a 
legacy  left  by  an  Ohio  medium  they  had  liked  very 
much,  and  the  latter  by  a  New  York  medium,  who 
had  come  expecting  to  stay  all  winter  at  The  Pop- 
lars and  was  only  invited  for  a  week.  If  they  lost 
anything,  they  always  appealed  to  Myrtle  to  find 
it;  and  if,  after  searching  according  to  her  direc- 
tions, they  were  unsuccessful,  they  knew  that  the 
wicked  Thistle  was  the  cause. 

After  this  explanation  Consolation  turned  to  me 
and  said,  "  Me  know  you,  big  sick  brave.  You 
think  you  strong  ;  you  go  down  easy  ;  you  no  legs. 
You  too  proud.  Why  you  proud  ?  You  no  legs 
and  you  no  wampum." 

I  found  this  very  embarrassing  and  asked  if 
there  was  any  way  this  spirit  could  be  turned  off 
and  Adah  Isaacs  turned  on  again. 


48  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

Then  Thistle  caused  Consolation  to  say,  "  You 
no  like  me.  I  no  like  you.  I  hide  all  your  gold 
buttons,  so  Myrtle  no  find  one  thing." 

I  will  not  relate  all  the  foolish  talk  of  this  Indian 
maiden.  After  she  had  gone,  a  very  remarkable 
ghost,  who  refused  to  give  any  name,  took  posses- 
sion of  Consolation  and  talked  a  long  time  about 
atmospheres.  It  informed  us  that  every  person 
has  four  atmospheres :  the  physical,  the  mental, 
the  moral,  and  the  spiritual.  That  each  of  these 
atmospheres  is  made  up  of  particles  either  concave 
or  convex  in  form.  That  a  perfect  affinity  is 
when  all  the  particles  composing  the  four  atmos- 
pheres of  one  being  perfectly  adjust  themselves 
to  the  corresponding  particles  of  the  four  atmos- 
pheres of  another. 

"  Oh  !  "  exclaimed  this  spirit,  pathetically,  "  when 
you  think  that  the  atmosphere  of  every  soul  is 
composed  of  myriad  particles,  either  concave  or 
convex,  and  each  concave  particle  of  each 
atmosphere  is  a  complement  of  a  convex  particle 
in  the  atmosphere  of  another,  is  it  a  marvel  in 
the  crude  state  of  human  affairs,  that  the  spirit 
world  groans  over  the  vast  numbers  of  imperfect 
affinities  ? " 

I  thought,  if  I  had  understood  it,  that  the  upper 
world  was  excusable  if  it  howled  aloud  and  even 
gnashed  its  teeth;  and  I  said  so. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  49 

Whereupon  Consolation  moaned  sadly,  "  O 
scoffer,  live  and  suffer,  and  learn  by  anguish  that 
which  we  would  teach  without  pain !  " 

Miss  Norton  said  she  was  sorry  I  had  spoken 
as  I  did,  because  the  spirits  were  very  sensitive, 
and  she  would  really  have  liked  to  know  what 
the  four  atmospheres  meant;  but  now  probably 
this  particular  ghost  had  gone  off  indignant. 

I  was  just  getting  ready  to  apologize  when  Con- 
solation gave  a  little  sigh,  shrugged  her  shoulders, 
and  then  gave  us  all  a  sweet  smile.  Her  first 
conscious  act  was  to  glide  to  the  lounge  and  take 
the  philosophic  Emmanuel  by  the  ear.  I  am  sure 
she  was  a  woman  I  should  most  have  enjoyed 
entranced. 

He  opened  his  eyes  and  looked  as  good-natured 
as  a  satyr  awakened  by  a  wood-nymph  ;  and  al- 
though Consolation  assumed  the  playfulness  of 
one,  I  am  sure  that  it  was  no  gentle  touch  that 
brought  her  lord  and  master  back  so  suddenly  to 
the  world  of  realities. 

Later  in  the  evening,  as  we  sat  in  my  room,  I 
asked  Thurston  about  this,  and  he  laughed  and 
said  probably  the  pinch  she  gave  him  would  have 
brought  the  blood  if  it  had  been  my  ear.  We 
talked  a  long  time  about  the  Temples  and  many 
other  things,  when  suddenly  he  said,  "  What  did 
you  think  of  that  dove  business  ?  " 
4 


jo  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  I  did  n't  think  anything  about  it,"  I  said,  "  that 
is  the  mystic  way  mediums  have  of  talking.  I 
suppose  I  see  now  how  they  can  get  a  sort  of 
power  over  a  weak  person." 

He  sat  a  few  minutes,  slowly  turning  a  fine  old 
ring  which  he  wore  upon  his  little  finger.  Then, 
looking  suddenly  into  my  face,  he  said,  "John,  do 
I  appear  to  you  like  a  man,  or  a  boy  ?  " 

"  Like  a  very  manly  boy,"  I  answered.  His 
face  became  like  a  flame,  but  he  never  took  his 
strong,  dark  eyes  from  my  face. 

"  You  are  a  man,  John,  and  I  want  to  ask  your 
advice  about  something.  You  may  call  me  a  boy, 
or  a  man,  or  whatever  you  like,  only  help  me." 
After  waiting  a  moment  he  continued  in  his 
straightforward  way,  "It  is  a  long  story;  there, 
just  sit  round  so ;  I  can't  tell  it  if  you  look  right 
at  me,  but  when  we  come  to  the  end  I  don't  mean 
to  flinch. 

"  Let  me  see ;  it  began  three  years  ago ;  I  was 
at  the  English  High  School,  and  as  I  was 
going  home  one  day  a  good-looking  fellow,  well- 
dressed,  and  quite  a  swell,  I  thought,  came  up  and 
asked  me  if  I  knew  a  young  man  named  Thurston 
Moore,  who  went  to  the  English  High.  I  wanted 
a  little  fun,  and  I  said,  'Thurston  Moore?  Oh, 
yes,  I  have  heard  of  him ;  he  was  that  good  boy 
who  took  all  the  prizes  and  yet  was  beloved.  He 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  51 

died  last  month.  The  boys  have  just  taken  the 
crape  off  their  arms,  but  I  shall  visit  his  grave 
soon  ;  would  you  like  to  send  any  floral  design 
by  me  ? ' 

"  He  laughed  and  said,  '  If  he  is  dead,  I  have 
no  interest  in  his  grave.' 

" '  Oh,  he  was  so  good,'  I  said,  '  he  would  leave 
his  grave  to  do  a  man  a  favor.'  '  I  don't  like  to 
assume  quite  so  much  as  that  with  an  entire 
stranger,'  said  he,  and  began  to  laugh ;  then  stop- 
ping himself  all  of  a  sudden,  he  went  on,  '  The 
reason  I  pretended  not  to  know  you,  was  because  I 
wanted  to  see  what  sort  of  a  man  you  were,  before 
you  found  out  that  I  knew  you.  Was  it  unfair  ?  ' 

"  I  was  sixteen  years  old  when  he  called  me  a 
man ;  now  I  am  nineteen,  and  you  call  me  a  boy. 
Never  mind,  he  wanted  me  to  be  a  man,  because  I 
could  do  better  for  him  if  I  were  a  man ;  and  I 
see  why  you  would  rather  believe  me  a  boy." 

"  Why,  my  dear  fellow  !  "  I  cried  in  astonish- 
ment, "  boy  or  man,  what  difference  can  a  few 
years  make  to  me  ?  " 

"  You  would  rather  Clara  Norton  would  think 
me  a  boy,"  he  spoke  in  a  low  tone. 

"  I  don't  understand  you,"  I  said,  truly  per- 
plexed. 

"  Perhaps  not ;  but  I  want  to  tell  you  about  this 
fellow  now,  and  let  you  see  the  whole  thing  for 


52  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

yourself.  He  often  met  me  and  went  about  with 
me  a  good  deal.  His  name  was  Robert  Ryan. 
One  day  he  took  me  rowing  on  the  Charles  river, 
and  I  found  out  his  great  interest  in  me.  He  was 
in  love  with  Clara  Norton  and  was  not  allowed  to 
visit  there  :  he  knew  I  was  very  intimate  with  the 
family  and  he  wanted  to  tell  me  his  history.  I 
remember  I  took  it  very  coolly  when  he  said  he 
was  in  love  with  Clara ;  I  laughed  and  said, '  She  is 
a  nice  girl,  why  don't  you  go  for  her?'  Then  he 
rowed  for  a  long  time  without  a  word,  when  he 
drew  in  his  oars  suddenly,  and  said,  '  Thurston,  I 
mean  to  tell  you  everything,  and  then,  if  you  can, 
you  will  help  me.'  Now  I  just  want  you  to  listen 
to  this  for  romance,  John  Hardy.  I  can't  give  it  in 
Robert's  words,  you  know,  but  I  remember  it  all. 
He  was  born  down  at  the  North  End ;  his  father 
was  an  Irishman  and  his  mother  an  Italian.  In 
the  very  same  house,  at  the  very  same  time  that 
he  was  born,  there  was  born  a  little  girl.  There 
was  an  old  woman  in  the  house  who  told 
him  that  that  he  and  this  little  girl  cried  at  the 
same  minute,  and  there  would  always  be  but  one 
heart  between  them ;  and  he  always  believed  it  was 
so.  When  they  began  to  walk  they  always  went 
taking  hold  of  hands.  Don't  you  laugh,  John,  till 
you  hear  the  whole  of  it.  The  old  woman  used  to 
say, '  If  you  see  Robin,  thin  Nora  's  not  far  away.' 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  53 

They  were  both  infernally  poor,  and  when  they  were 
six  years  old,  Nora's  father  died,  leaving  more 
children  than  dollars.  One  day  when  they  were 
out  to  play  in  the  dirt  his  mother  came  out  and 
said,  '  What  will  you  do  when  Nora  goes  away  to 
be  a  lady,  Robin  ? '  'I  will  go  too,'  he  said,  and 
while  they  were  talking,  Nora's  mother  came  out  of 
the  house  crying  and  took  the  little  girl  in  doors. 
Robin  tried  to  follow,  but  they  threw  him  a  copper 
and  told  him  to  go  buy  Nora  a  bun,  a  bun  with 
sugar  on  it ;  and  they  shut  him  out.  A  bun  with 
sugar  on  it  meant  a  good  long  walk,  but  he  wanted 
Nora  to  have  it,  and  off  he  went.  When  he  came 
back  there  was  a  carriage  standing  before  the  door, 
and  they  were  bringing  out  little  Nora  all  dressed 
in  new  clothes.  '  Here  's  the  bun  ! '  he  screamed. 
'  You  can  eat  it  in  the  carriage,'  for  the  poor  little 
chap  thought  she  was  going  only  for  a  ride  with 
some  rich  lady.  She  kissed  him  and  said  the  lady 
promised  she  could  come  back  and  play  with  him 
when  she  liked.  But  the  old  woman  cried,  '  Ye  '11 
niver  see  your  swateheart  agin,  mind  that ! 
There  's  only  one  heart  between  yez,  mind  that ! ' 
When  the  carriage  turned  the  corner  he  heard  the 
loud  cries  of  Nora's  mother  and  he  knew  that  little 
Nora  was  gone  forever. 

"  I  can't  tell  it  the  way  he  told  it,"  said  Thurston 
abruptly.  "  Why,  man,  before  he  got  to  that  carry- 


54  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

ing  off  I  was  knocking  my  knuckles  on  the  row- 
locks to  keep  half  my  mind  off,  so  I  should  not  let 
him  see  me  cry  like  a  baby.  Well,  sir,  he 
followed  that  carriage  on  the  dead  run  ;  he  dodged 
horse  cars,  and  just  escaped  being  knocked  down 
by  express  wagons;  but  on  he  ran,  poor  little 
shaver !  First  he  lost  his  hat  in  the  mud,  then  one 
old  shoe ;  but  he  kept  the  carriage  in  sight  for  a 
long  time.  Then  it  was  blocked  for  a  while,  just 
long  enough  for  him  to  reach  it  and  take  a  good 
hold,  which  he  kept,  by  Jove,  until  it  reached  a  very 
respectable  looking  house  indeed.  When  they 
took  Nora  into  the  front  door  he  got  his  breath 
for  a  minute  and  screamed  her  name.  He  even 
tried  to  run  up  the  high  steps,  but  his  strength  was 
gone  and  he  fell.  A  lady  came  out  and  told  him 
he  must  get  into  the  carriage,  and  the  driver  would 
take  him  home.  She  told  him  as  kindly  as  she 
could  that  he  must  not  see  Nora  any  more,  that 
she  had  gone  to  another  home  where  she  would 
have  everything  that  was  beautiful.  '  Buns  with 
sugar  on  them  every  day  ? '  he  asked.  Yes,  she 
told  him,  and  she  was  to  have  a  new  mother,  and  a 
new  father ;  and  she  could  not  see  the  old  people 
at  the  other  end  of  the  city  any  more,  and  if  they 
kept  coming  and  making  trouble,  little  Nora  would 
have  to  go  back  and  be  poor  and  ragged  forever.  So 
he  went  back  to  his  dirty  home  and  tried  to  think 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  55 

all  the  time  that  Nora  was  eating  always  buns  with 
sugar  on  them.  Nearly  every  day  he  crossed  the 
city  and  found  her  house,  and  sometimes  he  saw 
her  dressed  like  a  little  princess,  and  he  ran  and 
hid  if  she  came  out,  or  showed  her  face  at  the 
window ;  for  he  remembered  if  anybody  from  his 
end  of  the  city  kept  coming  and  making  trouble, 
poor  little  Nora  would  have  to  go  back  again  and 
be  poor  and  ragged  forever  ;  and  so  it  went  on  until 
he  was  ten  years  old,  and  his  mother  died.  His 
father  had  been  drinking  a  good  deal,  because  his 
wife  was  sick,  he  said.  Now  he  drank  harder  than 
ever  because  she  was  dead  ;  and  Robin  was  having 
a  pretty  hard  time  when  it  occurred  to  him  one  day 
that  perhaps  he  could  have  a  new  father.  He 
went  very  early  one  morning  to  Nora's  new  home 
and  watched  until  he  saw  her  father  come  out. 
He  was  glad  when  he  saw  he  was  alone.  He  fol- 
lowed close  upon  his  heels  until  they  entered  the 
Public  Garden,  when  the  gentleman  turned  and 
said,  'What  do  you  want?'  He  did  not  realize 
that  Nora's  father  did  not  know  him,  and  he  said, 
'  My  father  beats  me,  I  want  a  new  father ;  my 
mother  is  dead.  Nora  is  happier  than  I  am.' 
'Who  is  Nora?'  said  the  gentleman,  laughing. 
'  Why,  my  Nora,'  said  Robin, '  the  little  girl  you  took 
away  from  my  house.'  '  O,  yes;  and  what  do  you 
want?'  '  I  should  like  a  new  father,'  said  Robin. 


5  6  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"The  gentleman  laughed  and  said,  '  If  I  hear  of 
one  I  will  let  you  know.'  When  he  went  home  he 
told  them  the  story  at  dinner,  and  they  all  laughed  — 
all  but  Nora.  She  set  to  work  to  find  a  new  father 
for  her  little  sweetheart,  and  a  year  after  he  was 
adopted  by  a  friend  of  Nora's  adopted  father,  a 
man  who  lived  in  New  York.  The  result  was  that 
Robin  was  educated.  Now  here  is  the  queerest 
part  of  all.  He  had  never  seen  Nora  to  speak  to 
her  from  the  day  he  chased  the  carriage  until  he 
met  her  as  Clara  Norton,  when  she  was  eighteen 
years  old.  What  do  you  suppose  he  did  ?  He 
made  love  to  her  right  under  the  nose  of  her 
adopted  mother,  who  declared  it  would  kill  her  if 
her  daughter  did  not  marry  a  gentleman.  At  the 
same  time  Robert's  adopted  father  said  he  had  not 
made  a  gentleman  of  Robert  to  see  him  throw  him- 
self away  on  a  paddy. 

"  This  naturally  caused  a  rupture  between  the 
families,  and  when  Robert  met  me  first  he  had 
been  forbidden  to  visit  Mr.  Norton's  house.  Poor 
fellow!  I  pity  him  now,  even  when  I  wish  he  were 
dead,  shot,  strangled,  anything  so  I  might  never 
see  him  again  !  " 

Thurston  paused,  and  I  laid  my  hand  on  his 
shoulder.  "  What  ?  "  he  said,  as  if  it  had  been  a 
question. 

"  Let 's  have  it  all,"  I  returned. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  57 

"  I  carried  notes  and  messages  back  and  forth 
for  a  long  time,"  he  continued,  "  when  suddenly  I 
felt  as  if  I  did  n't  want  to  carry  any  more.  It  was 
in  the  summer,  and  mother  and  I  were  at  the  same 
hotel  with  the  Nortons.  One  day,  when  I  came 
back  from  the  city,  Clara  asked  me  when  I  saw 
Robert  last  ? 

"'Hang   Robert! 'said  I. 

"  She  looked  around  quickly,  then  caught  my 
great,  ugly  hand  and  kissed  it.  '  Never  think  we 
are  ungrateful,  Thurston,  never  think  that,'  she 
whispered. 

"  '  Hang  gratitude  ! '  said  I. 

"  Then  she  laughed  and  said,  '  If  you  should 
hang  Robert  and  gratitude,  what  would  there  be 
left  to  live  for?  ' 

" '  Well,'  I  said,  '  you  have  got  to  get  another 
dog.' 

" '  What  do  you  mean  ? '  she  asked,  surprised. 
'  Don't  speak  like  that  to  me,  Thurston.' 

"  '  You  get  another  dog  all  the  same,  Clara  Nor- 
ton,' said  I.  '  When  you  think  you  have  a  trusty 
beast,  and  he  robs  the  basket  he  is  sent  to  carry, 
you  'd  better  get  a  new  dog,  that 's  all,'  and  I 
handed  her  the  last  letter  she  had  sent  by  me  to 
Robert.  John,  I  had  broken  the  seal,  and  wher- 
ever, through  the  four  pages,  the  name  of  Robert 
had  been  written,  I  had  erased  it,  and  in  its  place 
had  written  my  own  !  " 


58  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

Poor  Thurston!  His  voice  seemed  hushed  al- 
most to  silence  from  the  weight  of  his  shame. 
Yet  the  strength  of  his  own  honest,  condemning 
conscience  gave  him  the  power  to  utter  every  word 
with  a  painful  distinctness.  I  think  I  had  never 
felt  true  pity  for  a  man  before. 

My  curiosity  in  the  story  was  overcome  entirely 
by  my  sympathy  for  the  bey.  In  vain  I  argued 
with  myself  that  he  had  done  a  very  mean  thing 
and  deserved  to  suffer,  —  the  pain  in  his  great, 
manly  face  aroused  only  sympathy.  Was  the  in- 
fluence of  The  Poplars  already  making  me  see 
things  in  a  distorted  way  ? 

I  said  nothing,  and  after  a  pause  he  took  up  his 
story  in  a  firm  voice  : 

"  I  don't  believe  there  is  another  girl  in  the 
world  who  would  have  done  as  Clara  did. 

" '  You  know,'  she  said,  '  that  sometimes  you 
leave  the  letters  at  the  hotel,  or  I  should  never 
have  given  you  one  sealed.  I  will  never  seal  one 
again.  You  must  keep  it  until  you  meet  Robert. 
Never  think  of  this  again,  never,  never.  There 
can  be  no  temptation,  because  you  may  read  every 
word  of  mine  always,  and  I  am  sure  Robert  feels 
the  same.  Have  we  not  both  told  you  that  we 
love  each  other  for  always  ?  What  can  we  write 
more  than  that,  and  who  but  you  should  know  it  ? 
Are  you  not  our  only  friend?  I  have  promised 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  59 

mother  that  I  will  not  see  him.  I  will  keep  my 
promise.  It  is  only  while  he  is  in  Boston  that  I 
can  write,  or  hear  from  him.  Do  not  think  you 
have  done  an  unpardonable  thing.  Many  a  boy 
might  have  done  the  same  without  thinking  it 
enough  to  confess.  Only  keep  my  friend,  Thurs- 
ton !  '  And  I  will  keep  her  friend !  We  have 
never  spoken  of  it  since.  But  what  shall  I  do, 
John  ?  What  shall  I  do  ?  " 

He  said  this  so  gently,  so  helplessly,  I  felt  a 
little  impatient  with  him. 

"  Suppose,"  I  said  roughly,  "  that  you  had  a 
miserable  little  wound  which  you  imagined  almost 
a  mortal  affair,  and  you  went  to  the  surgeon,  and 
he  should  say,  '  A  little  caustic  is  what  you  need,' 
you  would  not  hesitate  to  let  him  apply  it  ?" 

He  put  his  hand  almost  affectionately  upon  my 
knee,  and  when  I  looked  into  his  mild,  black  eyes 
I  could  not  help  thinking  of  a  big  mastiff  I  had 
once  owned,  that  caught  a  fishhook  in  his  jaw.  I 
tried  with  clumsy,  unskilled  hands  to  take  it  out, 
adding  to  his  pain  ;  but  he  looked  up  with  only 
confidence  in  my  superior  judgment. 

"  Imagine  me  the  surgeon,"  I  said,  in  a  matter 
of  fact  tone.  "  Your  wound,  sir,  is  slight.  Still 
you  have  paid  so  much  attention  to  it  that  you 
imagine  it  serious,  and  I  will  apply  the  caustic. 
Your  youth  is  greatly  in  your  favor  ;  that  alone 


60  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

could    pull  you   through   without    your    common- 
sense." 

He  smiled.  "  Do  you  think  she  knows  the  state 
of  affairs  that  you  imagine  ?  " 

"  Do  you  mean  does  she  know  that  I  love  her  ?  " 
he  asked,  frankly.  "  Why,  what  can  she  think  ? 
But  I  don't  know.  I  wish  I  did." 

"  I  will  tell  you.     She  does  not  know." 
"  Are  you  sure  ?     How  could  you  know  ?  " 
"  I  know   in  this   way :  she   is  not  a  coquette. 
Consequently,  when  she  is  absent  from  the  man 
she  cares  for,  she  has  no  desire  to  subject  others. 
She  never  intended  to  make  a  victim  of  you ;     I 
know  that  because  she  takes  no  advantage  of  you 
whatever.     It  is  woman's  province  to  take  advan- 
tage of  any  man's  weakness,  when  she  knows  it" 

"  I  suppose  you  know  women  pretty  well,"  he 
said,  with  a  sigh. 

"  I  know  men  pretty  well,"  I  returned ;  "  and  I 
never  yet  saw  one  floored  by  a  dart  from  Cupid 
that  another  shot  from  the  same  bow  would  not 
cure." 

"  You  mean  that,  —  you  honestly  mean  that !  " 
I  felt  a  trifle  uncomfortable,  for  he  closed  his 
strong  fingers  on  my  knee  and  looked  straight  into 
my  eyes,  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  Jeannette ; 
but  recalled  the  virtues  of  caustic  and  said,  "Yes, 
I  believe  it." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  61 

He  withdrew  his  hand  suddenly,  saying,  "  Shall 
you  fall  in  love  with  her  ?  " 

"  With  whom,  Miss  Norton  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  No,  I  don't  think  I  shall.  1  certainly  will  not 
if  you  object." 

"  Don't  be  sarcastic.  I  have  no  right  to  object, 
and  I  will  tell  you  that  while  Mrs.  Norton  lives, 
Clara  can  never  marry  Robert ;  and  while  Robert's 
adopted  father  lives,  Robert  cannot  marry  Clara. 
They  would  never  be  ungrateful,  either  of  them." 

"  It  seems  to  me  they  are  paying  pretty  dearly 
for  their  civilization  ;  but  my  interest  is  not  in  them 
just  now,  but  in  you.  You  believe  in  caustic ;  if 
you  had  a  sister,  I  should  send  you  to  her;  not 
having  a  sister,  I  send  you  to  your  mother. 
Go  to  her  and  tell  her  just  what  you  have  told 
me." 

"  I  can't  do  that  —  she  would  blame  Clara." 

"  She  is  too  just ;  how  could  she  ?  " 

"  She  would  be  just  if  it  happened  to  anybody 
but  me.  I  know  my  own  mother ;  she  would 
blame  Clara." 

"Nevermind  if  she  did,  it  would  come  out  all 
right  in  the  end." 

"  I  won't  have  Clara  blamed." 

"  Then  if  you  are  bound  to  go  on  without  any 
outside  aid,  just  keep  your  mind  so  full  of  other 


62  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

impressions  that  this  fancy  will  fade  out  for  the 
want  of  a  place  to  dwell." 

"  Do  you  call  it  a  fancy  ?  " 

"Yes,  but  a  fancy  well  fed  becomes  a  passion. 
You  are  the  master  of  the  fancy,  you  are  the  slave 
of  the  passion  ;  and  a  man  of  nineteen  should  be  a 
slave  to  nothing." 

"  Do  you  think  I  ought  to  tell  Robert  ?  " 

"  No,  but  you  might  tell  Miss  Norton.  I  am 
not  sure  that  would  not  be  a  good  idea.  She 
might  laugh  at  you  ;  that  would  be  the  most  effect- 
ual thing  in  the  world." 

He  flushed  angrily;  but  when  I  said,  "  It  is  only 
the  caustic,  my  boy,"  he  smiled  again. 

"  Lay  it  on,  if  you  think  it  will  do  any  good.  I 
know  I  am  a  fool  without  brains  enough  to  keep 
my  folly  to  myself ;  but,  John,  sometimes  it  seems 
as  if  all  I  would  ask  would  be  to  have  everybody 
forsake  her  and  she  have  to  go  back  to  the 
dirty  old  house  at  the  North  End.  I  would  go 
there,  find  her  —  and  she  would  belong  to  me  !  " 

"  Where  would  Robert  Ryan  be  all  that  time  ?  " 
I  whispered. 

He  sat  perfectly  quiet  and  the  shadows  deepened 
in  his  face.  I  imagined  there  were  tears  in  his 
eyes,  but  I  would  not  make  myself  sure. 

Soon  there  was  a  knock,  and  we  heard  Maria 
Williams'  voice  at  the  door :  "  I  have  orders  to 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  63 

stop  all  talking  in  this  room,  and  if  there  is  a  small 
boy  named  Thurston  here,  to  take  him  away  so 
Mr.  Hardy  can  go  to  sleep." 

"  Now  would  n't  you  think  I  was  an  infant  ?  " 
demanded  Thurston.  "  That  is  the  way  I  am 
treated.  But  it  was  selfish  in  me  to  keep  you  talk- 
ing ;  you  look  tired,  and  you  came  here  to  get 
strong,  not  to  be  worried." 

He  arose,  but  did  not  appear  in  haste  to  go.  He 
examined  the  table  near  the  bed,  where  Mrs.  Moore, 
with  her  own  motherly  hand,  had  placed  wine  and 
beef  tea  to  pacify  the  fiend  if  he  came  to  me  in  the 
night,  at  the  same  time  saying,  "  I  know  I  must 
not  keep  you  up  ;  beside,  there  is  poor  Maria  wait- 
ing to  put  me  to  bed,  I  suppose."  He  opened  the 
door ;  but  instead  of  saying  good-night,  he  cried, 
"  Hello,  Mr.  St.  Claire,  you  here  ?  Come  in  a 
moment,  I  want  you  to  meet  Mr.  Hardy.  When 
did  you  come  back  ?  " 

"  I  am  just  returned,"  answered  a  pleasant  voice, 
and  the  next  instant  an  old  gentleman  followed 
Thurston  into  the  room. 

He  appeared  very  glad  to  meet  me,  and  hoped 
my  visit  would  do  me  more  than  material  good. 
He  talked  pleasantly  for  a  time  about  the  beauties 
of  The  Poplars,  and  the  generosity  of  its  mistress. 
Suddenly  he  turned  toward  Thurston  and  said, 
"  This  is  the  young  man  of  whom  you  spoke  this 


64  A  Fearless  Investigator.  . 

morning,  I  presume,  a  young  man  without  preju- 
dice. He  is  feeble  now ;  but  he  does  not  lack 
nerve,  Thurston,  he  does  not  lack  nerve  !  I  have 
not  yet  overcome  my  prejudice  against  Emmanuel 
Temple;  but  I  must  admit  that,  such  is  his  influ- 
ence, when  he  is  in  the  house  I  am  forced  to  part 
with  a  gold  piece.  Oblige  me  by  taking  this,  sir," 
and  he  drew  a  gold  piece  from  his  pocket,  which  he 
held  towards  me. 

"  I  know  no  reason  why  I  should  take  it,"  I 
said,  a  little  embarrassed,  believing  I  was  talking  to 
a  lunatic. 

"  Mrs.  Moore  will  take  it  in  the  morning  and 
return  it  to  me.  It  will  not  benefit  you  to  receive 
it,  but  it  may  help  me  to  give  it  away." 

I  saw  Thurston  watching  me  with  suppressed 
laughter  in  his  eyes,  and  I  determined  to  keep 
cool. 

"  Certainly,  sir,  I  will  take  it,  and  do  with  it  as 
you  request."  As  I  dropped  it  into  my  pocket,  I 
thought  his  face  grew  dark  for  a  moment. 

"  Queer,  is  n't  it,"  he  said,  turning  to  Thurston, 
"that  Emmanuel  Temple  has  no  love  of  gold? 
He  would  give  his  last  piece  to  anybody  who 
wanted  it.  I  cannot  help  looking  down  upon  him, 
and  yet  I  cannot  give  up,  after  all  these  years,  a 
bit  of  gold  without  a  pang.  What  is  your  curse, 
Mr.  Hardy?  Beg  your  pardon,"  as  he  saw  my 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  65 

astonishment.  "  Perhaps  I  have  alarmed  you. 
Mrs.  Moore  told  me  you  were  in  bed  or  ought  to 
be.  Thurston,  Mr.  Hardy  ought  to  retire,"  and 
with  a  gentle  flourish  of  his  hand  he  arose,  put  his 
arm  in  Thurston's,  and  they  bade  me  good  night. 

I  believe  my  last  conscious  thought  was  that 
Thurston  was  keeping  his  promise  royally,  that  he 
would  show  me  some  queer  people  if  I  would  come 
to  The  Poplars,  and  I  did  not  intend  that  he  should 
have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  me  surprised,  what- 
ever happened. 


:-:    :  -  -  - . 


:  :-..-    i 

la 


:.:, 


':  -::     : 

:  ••.  -.  -  • : 


7-    : 


:    -    T       :  t  -L  . 


!:-_.:  V..1-  --,. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  67 

Upon  going  down  I  found  that  Thurston  had 
gone  to  town,  and  would  not  be  back  until  after- 
noon. Mrs.  Moore  took  me  to  the  dining-room, 
where  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  still  sat.  "  There  is 
some  excuse  for  you,  Mr.  Hardy,"  said  that  severe 
little  lady,  as  I  was  placed  opposite  her  at  the 
table,  "  but  for  me  there  is  none.  Think  of  the 
time  of  day,  and  I  have  just  finished  breakfast ;  I 
don't  know  why  Sarah  did  not  call  me." 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  the  person  who  would  de- 
liberately waken  any  one,  who  had  not  a  train  to 
catch,  or  some  immediate  duty  to  perform,  could, 
in  the  course  of  time,  commit  any  crime  that  sel- 
fishness could  conceive,"  said  Mrs.  Moore  with  a 
smile. 

"  Should  we  allow  the  indolent  to  waste  all 
the  hours  they  please  in  sleep  ? "  asked  Mrs. 
Hardcreeder. 

"  I  don't  believe  we  can  judge  who  are  the  indo- 
lent," Mrs.  Moore  returned  gently. 

"  If  everybody  was  like  you,"  Mrs.  Hardcreeder 
exclaimed,  "  the  world  and  all  its  institutions 
would  crumble — crumble  to  dust." 

"  But  everybody  is  not  like  me,  Susannah  ;  there 
are  plenty  still  to  rouse  people  out  of  their  sleep  at 
unearthly  hours,  that  they  may  take  care  of  the 
world  and  all  its  institutions,"  said  Mrs.  Moore, 
laughing  her  easy,  pleasant  laugh  that  never  irri- 
tated me. 


68  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  That 's  neither  here  nor  there,"  observed  Mrs. 
Hardcreeder  severely.  "  The  excuse  I  have  for  be- 
ing down  so  late,  is  that  I  did  not  sleep  well  at  all. 
Last  night  when  I  came  home  from  the  farmhouse, 
Emma  Lizzie  wanted  to  walk  over  with  me,  but  I 
would  n't  let  her,  and  just  before  I  got  to  the  house 
a  strange  gentleman  came  up  to  me  and  said, 
'  Oblige  me,  madam,  by  taking  this  money.'  My 
first  thought  was  that  he  was  some  crazy  man 
stopping  here  awhile,  but  I  remembered  I  had  not 
seen  him  anywhere  in  the  house ;  then  I  thought 
perhaps  he  knew  I  was  interested  in  the  Little 
Heathen's  Bank,  and  I  took  it,  and  he  went  away ; 
but  when  I  got  to  my  room  I  found  it  to  be  a 
twenty  dollar  gold  piece,  and  I  fear  it  was  a  mis- 
take. Eighty  cents  is  the  most  any  one  person 
has  ever  before  been  moved  to  give  to  the  Little 
Heathen's  Bank." 

"  Yes,  it  was  a  mistake,"  said  Mrs.  Moore.  "  If 
you  will  give  it  to  me,  I  will  see  that  the  owner 
gets  it." 

"Neighbor?"  asked  Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  with  a 
desire  to  appear  wholly  without  curiosity. 

"  Yes,"  Mrs.  Moore  replied. 

"Crazy,  I  suppose,"  observed  the  clergyman's 
wife,  a  little  more  positively. 

"  Many  might  call  him  so.  He  is  a  miser  who 
is  trying  to  reform  himself." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  69 

"  Then  why  do  you  give  him  his  money  back  ?  " 

"  So  that  he  may  give  it  again." 

"  The  same  money ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Hard- 
creeder. 

"  Certainly." 

"  But  why  not  take  his  money  after  he  has  given 
it  and  do  some  good  with  it !  " 

"  He  has  no  real  interest  in  the  money,  but 
simply  in  the  giving.  He  has  no  money  whatever 
himself,"  Mrs.  Moore  explained. 

"  Pray,  whose  money  is  this  ?  "  demanded  Mrs. 
Hardcreeder,  taking  a  gold  piece  from  her  pocket. 

"Mine,  I  suppose,"  said  her  sister-in-law.  Mrs. 
Hardcreeder's  face  became  positively  livid.  I  had 
taken  the  gold  piece  I  had  received  the  evening  be- 
fore and  laid  it  upon  the  table ;  she  saw  it  and 
knew  instantly  that  it  had  come  from  the  same 
source  as  her  own. 

Mrs.  Moore  remained  unmoved. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  how  this  man  is  reforming 
himself  giving  away  other  people's  money  ?  "  Mrs. 
Hardcreeder  inquired,  with  her  mouth  drawn  as  if 
from  pain. 

"  Sometimes  for  weeks  he  carries  gold  pieces 
about  with  him  and  cannot  force  himself  to  part 
with  one,"  said  Mrs.  Moore. 

"  And  you  trust  him  with  your  money  ?  You  are 
crazier  than  he,  Sarah  Jackson — you  are  crazier 


70  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

than  any  of  the  godless  lunatics  that  you  harbor." 
She  arose  and  placing  her  hands  upon  the  table, 
leaned  towards  me  with  a  concern  in  her  face  I 
could  not  ignore,  and  said,  earnestly,  "  You  do  not 
belong  in  this  place,  Mr.  Hardy !  Is  your  soul 
saved  ?  If  not,  then  leave  and  save  it !  Here 
nothing  is  sacred  ;  the  tomb  is  robbed,  and  the 
devil  takes  the  names  of  innocent  people  quietly 
resting  in  their  graves  waiting  for  the  resurrection, 
and  conies  to  injure  minds  that  are  ready  to  be  de- 
ceived. Your  mind  is  weak  from  sickness ;  go 
home ;  go  away  anywhere  rather  than  stay  here ; 
go,  Mr.  Hardy,  go !  go  !  " 

I  really  wanted  to  ask  her  to  give  me  some  more 
definite  reason  why  I  should  fly  so  hastily  from  a 
pleasant  place,  but  Mrs.  Moore  with  gentle  tact 
began  to  talk  about  my  driving  Clara  Norton  to 
the  village,  and  she  added,  "  Clara  and  Thurston 
have  set  their  two  hearts  on  a  masquerade  party 
while  you  are  here,  John,  and  Clara  wants  a  seam- 
stress. It  is  not  very  far  to  the  village  and  the 
drive  will  do  you  good.  Will  you  go  ?  " 

"  Nothing  more  agreeable  could  be  suggested," 
I  declared.  I  wanted  to  stop  and  ask  about  the 
gentlemanly  miser,  but  I  felt  that  I  would  better 
ask  Thurston  or  wait  until  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  was 
absent.  Before  I  had  finished  breakfast,  the 
phaeton  was  driven  to  the  front  door,  and  when  I 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  71 

went  out  Clara  Norton  sat  holding  the  reins  and 
talking  to  the  Temple  twins,  who  sat  on  a  little 
seat  in  front  facing  her.  As  soon  as  she  saw  me 
at  the  door,  she  said  in  a  low  tone :  — 

"There  is  Mr.  Hardy,  just  look  at  him;  does  he 
look  as  if  he  would  let  you  go  ?  " 

The  two  black  heads  turned,  and  four  dark, 
unmoved  eyes  rested  upon  me.  "  Yes,"  they 
replied,  as  if  one  impulse  had  moved  them  simul- 
taneously. Nor  did  they  turn  their  eyes  from  me 
while  Miss  Norton  and  I  exchanged  the  compli- 
ments of  the  morning. 

"  Mrs.  Moore  has  been  disposing  of  your  time 
very  coolly  while  you  slept,  Mr.  Hardy,"  said  Miss 
Norton.  "  You  are  to  drive  me,  or  I  am  to  drive 
you,  to  the  village  this  morning." 

"  I  would  Mrs.  Moore  were  Fate,  if  she  will  plan 
events  for  me  while  I  sleep  which  I  could  only 
aspire  to  in  dreams,"  I  said. 

"  Save  such  compliments,  I  beg,  until  Mr. 
Thurston's  masquerade,"  she  returned ;  "  he  is 
going  to  have  one.  It  sounds  out  of  the  key  of 
sunlight.  In  the  moonlight  it  may  not  be  out  of 
harmony,  but  the  sunlight  demands  honesty;  don't 
you  think  so  ? "  Then,  without  waiting  for  an 
answer,  "  You  are  looking  a  little  tired  this  morn- 
ing, Mr.  Hardy.  You  went  up  stairs  late,  and 
Thurston  said  he  kept  you  up  there  talking  a  long 


72  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

time.  Don't  let  us  forget  that  you  are  a  convales- 
cent. These  are  the  Infant  Protoplasts ;  are  you 
going  to  let  them  go  to  drive  with  us?" 

"  Bareheaded  ? "  I  asked,  not  wholly  pleased 
with  the  idea  of  having  their  company  any  way. 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  answered,  laughing  gaily,  "  they 
have  bonnets." 

I  stood  by  the  phaeton,  waiting  unconsciously 
for  them  to  get  out.  They  sat  perfectly  quiet, 
their  plump,  brown  hands  folded  exactly  alike, 
and  their  soft,  dark  eyes  not  unlike  the  eyes  of  a 
pet  seal  that  mutely  and  unconsciously  appeals  to 
you,  not  perhaps  as  a  human  soul,  but  as  one  in 
embryo. 

"  I  am  your  guest,  Miss  Norton.  You  are  the  one 
to  decide  how  many  shall  go." 

"  No ;  that  is  a  very  cowardly  way  out  of  it.  If 
you  don't  want  them  to  go,  say  so,  and  I  will  send 
them  away." 

"  They  don't  want  to  go,"  I  said,  watching  in 
vain  for  a  change  of  expression  in  the  little, 
swarthy  faces.  "  They  want  to  go  in-doors  and  read 
a  page  of  Herbert  Spencer  and  tell  us  all  about 
it  when  we  get  back." 

I  turned  toward  Miss  Norton  and  a  tranquil 
voice  murmured,  "  Us  is  going." 

"  Which  one  said  that  ?  "  I  asked.  "  Me,"  they 
both  replied. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  73 

"  I  have  often  heard  of  two  people  having  but 
one  heart  between  them,  but  I  never  heard  of  two 
having  only  one  mind,"  I  said. 

"  Come,"  Miss  Norton  said  hastily,  "  if  you 
want  to  go,  run  get  your  bonnets  and  hurry  back  ; 
we  will  wait  for  you."  I  lifted  them  out,  and  hand 
in  hand  they  waddled  off  without  a  word  towards 
the  farmhouse  for  their  bonnets. 

"  What  a  perfect  morning,"  I  exclaimed,  as  I 
took  a  seat  in  the  phaeton. 

"  Beautiful,"  Miss  Norton  returned,  rather  ab- 
sently, I  thought. 

"  I  wish  Thurston  were  going  with  us  instead  of 
those  twins,"  I  said,  frankly. 

"  He  will  be  at  home  this  afternoon,  and  he 
rides  and  drives  all  the  time,  and  the  poor  little 
protoplasts  don't  get  many  chances." 

"  Do  you  think  Thurston  seems  quite  as  jolly  as 
he  used  to  be  ?  "  I  asked.  "  I  have  not  seen  him 
for  some  time  until  now." 

"  I  think  failing  in  his  examination  was  a  great 
disappointment ;  but  he  is  nothing  but  a  boy,  he 
has  time  enough.  I  tell  him  so  all  the  time,  and  I 
wish  you  would  do  the  same." 

"  I  do,  but  somehow  I  don't  think  it  makes  him 
comfortable." 

"  You  must  make  him  comfortable,"  she  said, 
impulsively.  "  He  is  the  dearest  boy  in  the  world. 


74  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

Of  course  what  a  man  says  would  have  more 
weight  than  anything  a  girl  could  say,  or  even  his 
mother.  He  is  like  a  brother  to  me,  and  has  been 
for  years.  You  think  he  does  not  seem  quite  so 
jolly  as  he  used  to  — do  you  really  mean  it?" 

"  Sometimes  he  seems  more  jolly,  but  he  runs 
down  quickly,  if  you  can  understand  that." 

She  looked  perplexed,  and  I  wondered  if  she 
were  ignorant  of  Thurston's  love  for  her.  In  the 
bright  sunlight  her  fair  face  showed  no  blemish 
and  her  soft  hair  caught  the  bright  rays  and  held 
them  there  until  she  seemed  to  wear  a  red  gold 
crown.  But  as  I  looked  at  her  my  sympathies 
were  with  Robert  Ryan,  for  I  thought  Thurston 
Moore  was  only  a  boy. 

"  T  wish,"  she  said  slowly,  "  that  you  would  not 
make  me  feel  that  you  are  hiding  half  the  thoughts 
you  have  in  your  mind.  I  do  not  mean  that  a 
person  has  not  a  perfect  right  to  his  ideas  and 
thoughts,  and  the  privilege  of  keeping  them  all  to 
himself  if  he  will ;  but  I  think  one  should  decide 
before  he  speaks  whether  he  means  to  give  his 
ideas,  or  hide  them.  For  instance :  when  you  first 
came  out  and  stood  by  the  carriage,  of  what  were 
you  thinking  ?  While  you  were  talking  I  was  not 
only  perfectly  conscious  of  what  you  said,  but 
half  conscious  of  what  you  were  thinking.  To  be 
half  conscious  of  anything  for  me  is  positive  pain." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  75 

"  According  to  that  idea  anybody  has  the  power 
of  giving  you  positive  pain." 

"  Certainly,  anybody." 

"  If  I  am  sometimes  very  honest  then,  you  must 
know  that  it  is  to  spare  you  pain." 

"  If  you  will  be  so,  I  shall  always  respect  your 
intention,  Mr.  Hardy." 

At  this  moment  a  buxom  looking  girl  came 
towards  the  carriage,  leading  back  the  seal-eyed 
babies.  She  was  dressed  in  some  cotton  material 
which  was  starched  stiff  and  rattled  as  she 
walked. 

"  There !  "  she  exclaimed,  as  she  lifted  the  chil- 
dren in  and  sat  them  on  the  little  seat,  "  I  have 
done  the  best  I  could  to  make  them  look  decent,  but 
they  are  all  to  pieces ;  if  the  wind  blows  hard,  there 
ain't  a  button  on  them  but  will  fly  off.  I  told  Mrs. 
Temple  this  morning  before  she  went  to  the 
city  that  if  they  was  my  children,  I  should  be 
ashamed  of  'em.  But  she  said  the  best  of  Emman- 
uel and  her  was  in  'em,  though  what  that  had  to 
do  with  their  buttons,  I  could  n't  tell.  But  land  ! 
you  could  n't  treat  'em  bad,  —  they  ain't  any  more 
trouble  than  if  they  was  carved  out  of  wood." 

"  Thank  you  ever  so  much  for  making  them  so 
presentable,"  said  Miss  Norton.  "  They  won't 
get  out.  I  think  they  will  hold  together."  She 
lifted  the  reins,  and  we  drove  away. 


•j  6  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  That  is  the  Emma  Liz,  I  suppose,"  I  said,  as 
we  entered  the  long  avenue. 

"  Yes;  now  tell  me  what  you  had  in  your  mind 
when  you  first  came  out;  that  will  do  to  begin 
with." 

"  I  had  the  impression  last  night  that  you  were 
not  a  coquette ;  but,  manlike,  this  morning  I  made 
up  my  mind  I  must  demonstrate  it  by  my  reason. 
I  began  badly.  Now  I  must  wait  for  time  to 
prove  what  I  might,  if  I  had  been  clever,  have 
found  Out  in  a  few  minutes." 

"  What. you  know  by  intuition,  you  should  never 
try  to  prove,  but  accept  as  a  favor  from  the  gods," 
she  said,  laughing.  "  Originally  man  had  intui- 
tion as  well  as  woman;  but  he  insulted  the  gods  by 
applying  proofs  to  what  was  given  by  the  immor- 
tals, and  they  slowly  withdrew  the  blessing.  A  few 
have  it,  like  you,  in  a  small  way;  but,  like  you, 
they  will  not  trust  it,  and  in  time  it  will  die  out 
entirely." 

"  Not  in  those  who  trust  it,  I  beseech !  You 
hold  out  a  little  hope  for  a  few  of  us,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  Too  late,  I  fear;  you  must  do  the  best  you  can 
now  with  your  reason  and  your  logic.  But  tell  me, 
do  you  think  something  is  wrong  with  Thurston  ? 
Maria  Williams  thinks  so,  too." 

"  No  coquette,"  I  thought,  "  would  have  turned 
the  current  of  a  conversation,  just  as  it  was  cen- 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  7  7 

tring  all  its  interest  upon  herself,  as  this  girl  has 
done.  But  she  knows  she  has  hurt  the  boy,  and 
would  like  to  repair  the  damages." 

"  Do  you  think  it  possible,"  I  said,  coolly,  "  that 
Thurston  is  in  love  with  anybody  ?  " 

"  Preposterous  !  "  she  exclaimed,  then  laughed 
merrily ;  but  suddenly  her  face  changed,  and  I 
imagined  she  looked  a  little  frightened.  "  Now 
don't  let  me  jump  at  conclusions,"  she  said,  loos- 
ing the  reins  and  allowing  the  pony  to  walk,  "  and 
yet  so  many  things  come  to  me  now  that  he  has 
said.  Yet,  boy  as  he  is,  he  is  too  manly  to  care  for 
any  one  who  could  never  care  for  him." 

She  paused  abruptly.  I  felt  that  I  was  not  see- 
ing acting,  but  the  literal  dawning  of  a  truth  upon 
an  unwilling  mind. 

"  I  will  find  out/'  she  said,  tightening  the  reins 
again  so  suddenly  that  the  heads  of  the  protoplasts 
struck  the  dasher  and  their  little  heels  flew  up. 

I  settled  one  with  the  devout  wish  that  the  but- 
tons had  not  suffered ;  and  Miss  Norton  caught 
the  other  just  as  she  threatened  to  roll  out.  As 
the  one  on  my  side  came  up  she  said,  "  I  like 
Thurston,  he  is  good."  As  the  other  was  settled, 
she  said,  in  the  same  tone,  "  I  like  Thurston,  he  is 
good." 

Their  minds  had  probably  worked  out  the  prob- 
lem at  the  same  moment ;  but,  owing  to  one  re- 


78  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

covering  her  equilibrium  later,  the  expression  in 
her  case  was  delayed.  I  forgot  them  immedi- 
ately in  my  anxiety  to  learn  what  Miss  Norton 
was  thinking. 

"  How  will  you  find  out  ?  " 

"Wait  for  the  masquerade  party.  I  will  sur- 
prise him.  The  poor  boy !  I  know  it  is  a  mis- 
take, but  I  will  find  out ;  afterward  we  will  tell 
him,  and  what  fun  he  will  make  of  us.  Don't  let 
us  talk  any  more  about  it ;  if  we  do,  I  shall  imagine 
that  it  is  true,  and  may  be  he  is  perfectly  wretched. 
Here  is  the  place, —  I  won't  stay  long." 

The  next  building  to  the  one  she  entered  was  a 
small  candy  shop.  The  four  seal  eyes  wandered 
slowly  from  the  door  through  which  she  had  dis- 
appeared to  the  inviting  window  of  this  shop  ;  then 
they  wandered,  still  without  emotion,  to  my  face, 
and  I  am  sure  they  both  said,  "  Papa's  money  all 
gone ;  is  you  money  all  gone  ?  " 

There  was  no  need  that  these  infants  should 
know  the  truth,  and  I  felt  in  my  pocket  for 
some  change,  when  I  saw  that  their  stockings  were, 
in  some  mysterious  manner,  trying  to  cover  their 
shoes,  and  the  stocking  bands,  or  infant  suspen- 
ders, or  whatever  those  dangling  things  were  that 
the  Emma  Liz  had  induced  to  disappear,  were 
ready  and  willing  to  trail  after  them  again ;  and, 
although  I  had  never  made  infant  rigging  a  study, 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  79 

I  felt  sure  that  something  ought  to  be  made  fast  that 
was  not;  and  this  brought  to  my  mind  what  the 
Emma  Liz  had  hinted,  that  something  might  hap- 
pen if  the  wind  blew  hard,  and  possibly  that  jerk 
they  had  received  when  the  pony  started  was  as 
bad  for  them  as  a  high  wind.  I  gave  a  furtive 
glance  up  and  down  the  street  to  see  if  anybody 
was  in  sight,  —  not  even  a  dog. 

I  pointed  down  at  something  which  I  felt,  from 
the  little  intuition  the  gods  had  left  in  me,  must 
be  out  of  order,  and  I  said  softly,  but  sternly, 
"  Take  a  reef  in  that !  " 

"  That 's  my  pettitote,"  said  one  ;  "  the  button 
is  boke." 

"  My  two  buttons  is  boke,  too,"  said  the  other. 

Never  mind  which  spoke  the  idea  was  the  same, 
and  a  most  terrible  one,  —  they  -were  coming  to 
pieces!  Miss  Norton  would  come  out  and  find 
me  buried  under  the  rigging  of  the  wretched  in- 
fants. I  forced  myself  to  become  passive,  and 
waited  for  an  inspiration.  It  came.  One  of  them 
was  standing  between  my  knees  asking  me  to  pin 
her  pettitote.  I  had  never  pinned  a  pettitote. 
Nanny's  baby  never  wore  pettitotes.  I  hastily 
drew  some  silver  from  my  pocket  and  pointed  to 
the  candy  shop ;  then  I  said  gently,  but  distinctly, 
"  Go  buy  you  some  nice  candy ;  and  ask  somebody 
in  there  to  put  you  together,  —  pin  you  up,  take  a 


go  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

reef,  or  anything  you  most  need."  The  inspira- 
tion was  a  good  one.  I  don't  blame  Heaven  for 
that ;  but  this  is  how  it  turned  out. 

The  moment  these  protoplasts  struck  the  ground, 
what  they  had  called  pettitotes  fell, — dropped 
upon  the  ground !  Deliberately  they  shook  them 
off,  as  calmly  as  if  they  were  but  dust  before  a  city 
gate,  and  entered  the  candy  shop.  My  first  im- 
pulse was  to  take  the  whip  handle  and  push  them 
under  the  phaeton  out  of  sight ;  but  as  I  reached 
for  the  whip,  I  heard  a  door  open  and  thought 
Miss  Norton  was  coming,  but  it  proved  to  be  a  fat 
woman  from  the  candy  shop. 

"  How  much  candy  do  you  want  your  children  to 
buy  ? "  she  inquired,  coming  up  to  the  carriage. 
Before  I  could  recover  from  the  idea  that  she  took 
me  for  Emmanuel  Temple,  her  diabolical  eye  fell 
on  the  small  garments  lying  by  the  wheel. 

"  Now  ain't  that  just  like  a  man,"  she  said.  "  I 
was  sure  them  children  dropped  something  when 
they  got  out,  and  they  did ;  and  I  suppose  you 
never  noticed  it.  They  might  have  dropped  off 
every  rag  on  them  and  you  would  n't  have  known. 
I  shouldn't  come  out  though,  because  I  saw  their 
mother  go  in  the  dressmaker's,  and  I  knew  she  'd 
see  when  she  came  back,  for  a  woman  knows  how 
many  stitches  there  is  in  children's  clothing,"  as  if 
every  stitch  in  those  things  had  not  cost  me  more 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  81 

than  it  ever  cost  Consolation  Temple !  She 
looked  at  me  severely,  and  then,  just  as  Miss 
Norton  came  out,  she  threw  the  two  far  from 
immaculate  garments  upon  the  little  seat  in  front, 
and  there  they  rested  with  a  glaring  vitality  which 
threatened  to  stamp  itself  upon  my  memory  for- 
ever. Miss  Norton  stared  a  little  when  she  came 
up  and  saw  nothing  but  the  two  little  garments  in 
place  of  the  twins.  She  blushed  a  little  too  when 
she  said,  "  Where  are  they  ?  " 

The  woman  did  not  appear  to  feel  quite  so  free 
with  Miss  Norton  as  with  me,  and  she  said,  turn- 
ing to  me,  "  Well,  I  suppose  you  don't  care  what 
they  buy  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  replied  hastily,  "  I  don't  care.  If  you 
have  any  Prussic  acid  drops,  give  them  all  they 
can  eat." 

Miss  Norton  laughed  and  said,  "  After  the  warn- 
ing from  the  Emma  Liz,  you  should  not  have  let 
them  get  out."  Then,  before  I  knew  it,  she  had 
seized  the  protoplasts'  garments  and  followed  the 
woman  into  the  candy  shop.  When,  she  came 
back  she  drove  the  twins  before  her.  They  were 
apparently  as  well  put  together  as  when  we  started. 
I  jumped  out  hastily  to  help  her  put  them  in,  but 
she  begged  me  not  to  touch  them  unless  I  had 
made  up  my  mind  that  I  never  wished  to  be  parted 
from  them,  and  I  felt  the  truth  of  what  she  said 

6 


82  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

when  I  looked  at  them,  freed  from  the  enchant- 
ment of  distance;  for  they  apparently  carried, 
either  upon  hands,  face,  or  garments,  a  small 
sample  of  every  kind  of  sweets  the  fat  woman 
sold. 

After  we  had  started  I  sat  gazing  at  them  with 
undisguised  disgust.  "  I  know  you  wish  we  had 
not  brought  them,"  said  Miss  Norton. 

"  No,"  I  murmured,  "  Mrs.  Temple  tells  us  that 
every  experience,  however  bitter,  strengthens  the 
soul." 

She  laughed,  but  her  laugh  was  not  very  merry. 
She  began  to  tell  me  about  the  good  seamstress 
she  had  found,  and  we  talked  of  the  masquerade 
party.  Suddenly  she  cried,  "  If  Thurston  loves 
anybody,  I  know  who  it  is.  A  horrible  idea  has 
come  into  my  mind,  but  I  mean  to  follow  it  out. 
At  first  I  was  going  to  tell  you  about  it,  but  I  have 
changed  my  mind  ;  I  want  you  to  enjoy  the  party, 
and  if  I  told  you  perhaps  you  would  not.  I  will 
only  tell  you  that  I  mean  to  fathom  him.  Now  we 
won't  say  any  more  about  it  until  the  party." 

She  looked  troubled,  and  I  imagined  a  little  sad  ; 
and  I  thought  as  we  drove  home  that,  after  all,  it 
was  more  comfortable  for  a  pretty  woman  to  be  a 
coquette  than  not.  That  is  to  say,  more  comfort- 
able for  her. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  83 


CHAPTER  V. 

WHEN  Miss  Norton  left  me  to  deliver  the 
sticky  twins  to  anybody  who  would  care  for 
them,  I  was  sorry  to  see  the  Emma  Liz  rounding 
the  corner  of  the  farmhouse,  and  I  heard  her  ask 
if  Miss  Norton  could  spare  her  a  few  minutes. 

I  hoped  that  she  meant  literally  what  she  said, 
but  I  feared  as  they  disappeared  up  stairs  that  it 
might  mean  that  indefinite  length  of  time  that 
those  three  words  sometimes  grow  to  embrace  in 
the  feminine  mind. 

I  felt  neglected  and  wished  as  they  disappeared 
that  the  same  little  tug  had  steamed  me  into  a 
comfortable  harbor  before  leaving. 

I  knew  that  Mrs.  Moore  and  her  sister-in-law 
were  in  the  library,  but  I  walked  into  the  garden 
and  sat  down  alone. 

There  was  the  smell  of  the  springtime  every- 
where. I  had  never  been  near  Jeannette  Carlton 
in  the  springtime,  but  everything  seemed  to  me 
pervaded  with  her  sweetness.  I  could  not  even 
make  the  attempt  to  banish  the  thought  of  her.  I 


84  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

have  no  idea  how  long  I  sat  there,  lost  in  thought, 
bitter  and  sweet,  when  I  heard  the  rustle  of  a 
woman's  garments,  and  looking  up  I  saw  Consola- 
tion Temple  contemplating  me  with  her  artificial 
smile  spread  to  its  fullest  extent. 

As  I  raised  my  head  she  came  nearer  and  sat 
down  beside  me.  She  raised  her  eyes  and  let 
them  fall  slowly  upon  me  as  she  had  done  the 
evening  before,  and  I  felt  as  if  a  cloud  had  floated 
between  me  and  the  sun. 

"  You  were  not  alone,"  she  murmured,  "  yet  you 
deemed  yourself  alone  !  " 

"  On  the  contrary,  Mrs.  Temple,  Memory  with 
all  her  train  of  fays  and  fiends  was  with  me ;  but 
she  fled  as  you  approached." 

"  Take  it  as  a  good  omen,"  she  said  softly,  "  that 
however  dark  and  dreary  Memory  may  be  there  is 
a  daughter  of  light  ever  ready  to  banish  her.  I 
am  your  sister,  John  Hardy." 

I  did  not  contradict  the  assertion,  but  mentally 
advised  this  sister  not  to  proclaim  the  fact  to  my 
other  sister,  until  that  lady  had  had  time  to  grow 
to  the  full  beauty  of  the  idea. 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  the  society  of  which  I 
am  the  founder  ?  "  she  inquired  sweetly. 

"  No,"  I  said,  "  I  never  did,  but  I  wish  I  could, 
for  I  am  sure  it  must  be  unique." 

"  It  is  called,"  she  spoke  slowly,  "  The  Knights 
and  Ladies  of  a  Spiritual  Fraternity." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  85 

"  After  one  becomes  a  member  I  suppose  there 
is  nothing  vague  about  the  name." 

"  Let  me  explain  a  little  what  is  expected  of  each 
member,"  half  indicating  an  interrogation  point; 
but  without  waiting  for  me  to  speak  she  continued : 
"  The  whole  society  is  to  be  like  one  colossal  soul ! 
No  member  can  harbor  a  thought,  a  desire,  that 
does  not  belong  to  all.  For  instance,  I  come  to 
you  as  I  came  just  now  and  find  you  sad,  .and 
spirit  weary.  I  sit  beside  you ;  I  say,  '  Brother,  I 
would  know  it  all.'  Not  a  thought,  not  a  memory, 
not  a  pain  could  you  hide  from  me.  Perhaps  in- 
stead of  love,  you  were  thinking  of  some  new  en- 
terprise in  which  you  intended  to  invest  your  money 
next,  or  how  you  could  cheat  another  brother. 
All  must  be  freely  told.  Think  what  a  power  such 
a  society  might  become  !  Imagine  everybody  you 
know  as  members !  Think  of  only  a  part  of  the 
wealth  and  intellect  of  a  city  like  Boston  joining  in 
such  a  sacred  and  gigantic  enterprise.  Oh,  no, 
that  is  not  the  word — in  such  a  holy  fraternity. 
Can  you  imagine  the  moral  force  of  all  those  peo- 
ple uniting  and  acting  as  one  ?  If  the  grandeur  of 
it  can  overcome  the  mind  that  conceived  it,  how 
must  it  affect  the  mind  which  hears  of  it  for  the  first 
time  ?  "  and  she  bowed  her  head  upon  her  long, 
white  hand. 

"  Do  the  members  wear  badges  ? "  I  asked  tim- 


86  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

idly,  hoping  that  if  she  were  able  to  concentrate 
her  mind  a  moment  upon  a  simple  detail  she  might 
be  spared  the  anguish  that  viewing  her  project  as 
a  whole  seemed  to  cause  her. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  almost  tragically,  "  small  mir- 
rors upon  the  breast.  In  these  are  reflected  the 
thoughts  and  actions  of  the  wearers." 

"By  what  magic  means?  "  I  inquired. 

"  By  the  oath,  the  sacred  oath,  that  binds  each 
to  the  other  in  truth.  Every  evening  every  mem- 
ber is  bound  to  write  all  that  he  has  done,  or 
thought,  throughout  the  day.  Bind  together  every 
thought,  deed  and  passion,  as  the  reaper  returns 
and  binds  the  wheat.  Their  sheaves  of  mental 
wheat  are  garnered,  or  in  more  practical  words, 
their  diaries  are  filed,  and  every  member  is  free  at 
any  time  to  read  them.  Thus,  your  yesterday  is 
my  yesterday,  as  much  as  mine  is  yours.  The 
hopes  and  ambitions  of  your  to-morrow  become 
the  inheritance  of  the  whole  fraternity.  These 
files  are  the  key  which  unlocks  the  one  great  soul 
with  its  myriad  minds  and  hearts.  The  conception 
staggers  me ! " 

Again  I  felt  obliged  to  put  a  little  wedge  in  the 
wheel  of  her  imagination,  and  I  said,  "  What  are 
the  qualities  necessary  to  join  and  how  —  how 
about  the  initiatory  expense  ?  " 

"  The  qualities  ? "  she  said,   raising   her   head 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  87 

from  her  breast,  where  it  had  drooped  from  the 
weight  of  her  vision,  "  none  but  what  you  possess, 
brother  —  boldness  and  delicacy.  Boldness  to  de- 
mand the  truth,  and  delicacy  to  handle  it  after  you 
possess  it.  Will  you  join  us?  Many  noble  souls, 
who  have  shuffled  off  the  mortal  coil,  have  conde- 
scended to  be  counted  among  us.  Surely  you  cannot 
listen  with  indifference  to  such  names  as  — "  Here 
she  drew  a  little  book  from  her  pocket  and  read : 
"  William  Shakespeare,  Oliver  Goldsmith,  Thomas 
Campbell,  Bunyan,  Cicero,  Plato,  Milton,  Dante, 
Byron,  Swedenborg,  Washington.  I  could  go  on 
for  pages,  but  the  geniuses  who  have  passed  on 
are  not  unknown  to  you ;  and  where  genius  was 
unaccompanied  by  prejudice,  there  you  will  find 
we  were  able  to  enroll  the  names  with  those  mor- 
tals who,  though  still  bound  to  earth,  aspire  above 
her  sods.  The  initiation  fee  is  the  paltry  sum  of 
one  dollar." 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  be  curious,"  I  said,  "  but  how 
have  these  gentlemen,  whom  you  have  just  named, 
found  a  way  to  meet  the  material  part  of  their 
obligations  ?  " 

"  There  is  nothing  we  wish  to  hide,"  she  replied, 
"  and  to  pretend  that  our  society  needed  no  mate- 
rial aid  would  be  as  senseless  as  to  deny  my  babes 
bread  and  butter  because  they  are  immortal  souls. 
For  a  long  time  spirits  were  admitted  as  honorary 


88  A  Fearless  Investigator.  - 

members,  and  free ;  but  one  day  I  was  speaking 
to  Thurston  of  the  depressed  state  of  the  society's 
finances,  and  he  advised  us  to  assess  each  spirit 
member.  You  can  imagine  how  a  soul  like  mine 
would  shrink  from  asking  William  Shakespeare  for 
a  dollar." 

"  Think  of  it !  "  I  exclaimed,  "  I  would  not  have 
believed  it  of  Thurston." 

"  His  idea  was  worthy  of  a  member  of  the  Spir- 
itual Fraternity ;  it  was  that  each  mortal  member 
was  to  pay  for  one  great  soul  who  had  lived  and 
passed  on,  and  then  that  soul  should  become  his 
spirit  guide." 

"  And  whom  pray  did  Thurston  admit?  " 

"  That  is  not  for  me  to  tell,  you  must  ask  him." 

"  Oh,  I  beg  pardon.  I  thought  everything  was 
known  ;  that  every  detail  was  public  property." 

"To  those  of  the  fraternity,"  she  said  softly, 
lingering  on  the  words  as  if  they  were  very 
pleasant. 

"  Can  you  withdraw  at  any  time  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  No  spiritual  stimulus  can  be  withdrawn  sud- 
denly without  great  danger  to  the  soul's  vitality ; 
but  spirit  cannot  be  chained." 

"  That  means  you  can  leave  when  you  like  ?  " 
She  nodded  with  great  gentleness.  "  It  is  a  glori- 
ous cause,"  I  said.  "Are  there  any  more  dead 
geniuses  who  would  like  to  belong?  I  don't  be- 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  89 

lieve  I  will  enroll  my  own  name  yet ;  but  it  makes 
me  feel  queer  —  strange,  I  should  say,  when  I  think 
of  some  great  man,  like  Milton,  or  Dante,  waiting 
round  the  doors  and  seeing  mortal  knights  and 
ladies  going  in,  and  yet  debarred  for  the  paltry 
sum  of  one  dollar.  Could  I  be  allowed  to  offer 
the  initiatory  fee  of  any  ghost  —  I  mean  departed 
genius  ?  " 

"  This  is  indeed  generous  !  "  She  spoke  almost 
with  emotion.  Then,  taking  another  little  book 
from  her  pocket,  she  continued  :  "  Here  are  a  few 
names  given  me  by  a  very  responsible  medium, 
names  of  those  who,  having  finished  their  petty 
labors  here,  are  not  scornful  of  those  who  still 
tread  in  the  world's  great  wine-press.  The  first 
name  I  read  is  Thomas  Gray.  '  The  ploughman 
homeward  plods  his  weary  way.'  That 's  Gray,  I 
think." 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "and  those  churchyard  lines  are 
all  I  can  recall  of  his.  His  poetry  is  perfect ;  but 
if  I  —  I  don't  like  the  idea  of  a  mind  like  Gray's 
being  dependent  on  me  for  an  entrance  fee  any- 
where, and  I  don't  mean  to  depreciate  his  genius, 
but  you  said  something  about  becoming  a  spirit 
guide ;  I  could  not  tell  you  how  much  I  admire 
Gray  —  I  hope  he  is  not  present  now  —  but  I 
must  say  that  as  a  guide  he  might  be  a  little  de- 
pressing." 


90  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  The  next  name,"  she  was  growing  a  little  more 
business-like,  "  is  Laurence  Sterne." 

"  That  is  indeed  a  leap  from  the  gentle  Gray  to 
the  festive  Laurence.  Life  would  be  a  long,  senti- 
mental journey  with  Laurence  Sterne  as  a  guide." 
"  I  have  an  idea !  Most  minds  I  find  are  simple, 
and  run  in  one  groove ;  but  yours,  dear  brother,  is 
complex,  hence  one  guide  is  not  sufficient.  Choose 
four,  or  five  even,  and  when  one  side  of  your  mind 
is  in  action  that  will  call  to  you  one  guide  ;  when 
another  side  is  moved,  then  another  guide  in  sym- 
pathy with  that  side  will  lead  you." 

I  was  so  carried  away  by  this  idea,  and  delicate 
compliment,  that  I  quite  forgot  that  four  or  five 
guides  meant  as  many  dollars.  Now  I  had  not  a 
dollar  in  my  possession,  as  the  reader  knows,  that 
did  not  belong  to  Tom  Davenport.  But  I  was  not 
thinking  of  Tom,  or  his  dollars.  I  was  selecting 
my  four  guides.  "  You  understand  my  mind  so 
well,"  I  said,  "  if  you  would  be  kind  enough  to 
suggest  —  " 

"  I  do  claim  to  have  a  little  spirit  insight,"  she 
said,  modestly. 

"Now  I  want  simply  four  ghosts  —  spirits  I 
should  say  —  as  far  apart  as  the  four  points  of  the 
compass.  All  the  names  you  read  me  are  engaged, 
I  suppose." 

"  Oh,  yes,  and  many  more." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  91 

"  Did  you  mention  Moore,  Thomas  Moore  ?  " 

"  We  sent  for  Moore,  but  he  was  just  starting  on 
a  long  tour  among  the  stars ;  but  he  stopped  long 
enough  to  find  a  substitute,  and  I  am  sure  you  will 
smile  when  I  name  him  —  John  Calvin  !  At  first 
Calvin  would  not  come ;  he  said  the  basis  of  the 
society  was  too  broad  ;  but  Moore  told  him  the 
current  of  popular  thought  had  widened  a  little 
since  his  mortal  day,  and  perhaps  it  would  not  hurt 
him  to  come  back  and  take  a  swim  in  it." 

"  A  swim  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Yes,  in  the  current  of  popular  thought.  Moore 
is  fond  of  metaphor.  Well,  Calvin  came  —  I  sup- 
pose Moore  must  be  a  wonderfully  persuasive  man 
—  but  judge  of  his  mortification,  when  his  name 
had  been  weeks  on  the  list  and  no  one  offered  to 
pay  his  initiatory  expenses.  I  was  in  despair. 
One  day,  after  I  had  persuaded  an  old  theologian 
to  join,  I  mentioned  this  subject  of  guides,  and 
hoped  he  would  select  Calvin  ;  but  he  said,  '  Sister, 
give  him  to  some  unregenerate  soul,  and  give  me 
some  poet  that  I  enjoyed  when  I  was  young.' " 

"  And  Calvin  is  still  left  in  the  cold  ?  "  I  asked. 
"  Put  him  down  for  the  north  point  of  my  compass." 

"  And  Laurence  Sterne  for  the  south  ?  "  she 
asked,  smiling. 

"  Yes." 

"  And  dear  Thomas  Gray  for  the  east  ?  " 


92  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  Yes." 

"If  I  might  dare  suggest,"  said  Consolation, 
softly,  with  the  top  of  her  pencil  on  her  thin  lips. 

"  Do,"  I  cried,  "for  I  can  think  of  no  one." 

"  Dare  I  suggest  one  of  my  own  sex  ?  "  she  mur- 
mured, laying  the  tips  of  her  white,  slender  fingers 
on  my  arm.  "Has  not  woman  lived  and  sung? 
Has  she  left  no  great  name  in  song  and  story? 
Think  of  Sappho!" 

"  As  a  guide  ?  "  I  inquired,  strangely  moved. 

"  Not  as  your  only  guide ;  perhaps  you  could 
put  her  at  the  south,  and  change  Sterne  over  to  the 
west." 

"  Oh,  no,"  I  said,  a  little  fearful  of  Sappho, 
"  those  three  points  are  settled." 

"  Why  not  Hypatia  ?  She  was  a  glorious  woman." 

"  You  seem  determined  to  cover  that  point  with 
a  heathen,  I  see." 

"  Not  at  all,"  she  said  blandly,  looking  again  at 
her  little  book.  "  Here  is  Mrs.  Hemans,  to  come 
suddenly  down  the  centuries." 

"  I  have  nothing  against  the  heathen,"  I  said, 
"  but  after  I  had  been  with  Gray,  I  believe  prose 
would  be  a  relief." 

"  There  is  a  George  Sand,  that  woman  of  gigan- 
tic mind  and  heart." 

"  Just  the  man  —  woman  I  mean.  Now  we  have 
four.  Will  you  interview  them  at  your  earliest 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  93 

convenience  and  see  if  they  will  accept  me  ?  Of 
course  they  can  be  off  duty  a  great  part  of  the 
time." 

"  And  now,"  she  said,  earnestly,  "  can  you  refuse 
your  own  name  where  such  souls  enroll  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  refuse  my  name,  madam  —  it  is  the 
duties  that  enlisting  involve ;  I  am  not  able  at 
present  to  keep  a  diary,  nor  is  my  mind  yet  in  a 
state  where  the  report  of  its  working  could  be  of 
any  benefit  to  the  society." 

"  When  I  spoke  of  all  that,  my  brother,"  she 
said,  musingly,  "  I  was  giving  you  a  glimpse  of 
what  the  society  would  be  eventually.  Even  now 
many  zealous  and  conscientious  members  daily 
write  down  the  doings  of  their  inner  life  and  send 
it  to  me  ;  but  until  all  do  it  I  am  bound  by  all  that 
is  sacred  to  permit  no  human  eye,  save  mine,  to 
follow  the  words.  No  one  need  know  that  you 
are  a  member  until  you  desire  it." 

I  was  so  much  pleased  with  her  consideration 
that  I  quite  forgot  to  ask  how  we  were  all  going  to 
move  as  one  great  soul  if  we  knew  nothing  of  each 
other's  actions ;  but  she  began  to  expatiate  on  the 
rejoicings  of  these  geniuses  who  had  been  admitted 
through  me,  and  this  naturally  recalled  to  my 
mind  the  material  part  of  the  transaction,  and  I 
gave  her  a  dollar  for  John  Calvin,  one  for  Sterne, 
one  for  Gray,  one  for  George  Sand,  and  one  for 


94  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

myself.  She  took  from  a  little  bag  she  carried  a 
small,  oval  mirror  bound  with  a  blue  ribbon,  and  I 
allowed  her  to  pin  it  over  my  heart.  I  did  not 
quite  like  the  idea,  but  I  determined  to  do  away 
with  all  prejudice  while  I  stayed  at  The  Poplars. 
As  I  was  handing  her  the  money  I  looked  up,  for 
a  shadow  fell  upon  us,  and  I  saw  the  old  gentleman 
who  gave  away  gold. 

"  Don't  give  her  any  money,"  he  said,  "  she 
never  returns  it." 

I  was  surprised  to  see  Consolation  grow  quite 
pale,  and  rising  hastily,  she  said,  "  I  will  see  you 
soon  again,  Mr.  Hardy,  and  renew  our  conversation. 
I  will  interview  the  four  points  of  the  compass  and 
report."  In  an  instant  she  had  glided  away. 

"  Damned  humbug !  she  is,"  said  the  old  man, 
taking  a  seat  beside  me. 

"  Very  clever,  though,"  I  said,  laughing,  "  you 
must  admit." 

"  Clever  as  a  leech.  Come  now,  what  has  she 
been  drawing  from  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  a  member  of  the  Knights  and  Ladies 
Spiritual  Fraternity."  I  spoke  slowly  and  gravely, 
as  Consolation  had  done. 

"  How  much  did  it  cost  you  ?  " 

"  A  dollar."  I  thought  I  would  not  mention  the 
guides.  I  was  afraid  this  old  man  might  think  I 
had  not  made  a  good  selection. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  95 

"  Look  here,  young  man,  that  was  no  dollar  in- 
terview. I  know  just  how  long  you  have  been  sit- 
ting here." 

"  To  gratify  your  curiosity,  I  will  own  that  I 
paid  the  entrance  fee  of  John  Calvin,  Laurence 
Sterne,  Thomas  Gray  and  —  and  George  Sand." 

"  I  don't  care  how  much  money  she  gets  out  of 
you,"  and  he  began  to  laugh  softly,  "  but  don't  be- 
lieve a  word  she  says." 

"  But  you  must  admit  that  the  twins  need  new 
shoes,  Mr.  St.  Clair." 

"  That 's  all  right.  I  find  no  fault  with  that," 
and  drawing  a  piece  of  gold  from  his  pocket,  which 
he  handled  tenderly,  he  repeated  "  that 's  all  right, 
that 's  all  right.  Oblige  me  by  taking  this." 

I  took  it  and  slipped  it  into  my  pocket.  His 
face  saddened  a  little  as  it  disappeared,  but  in  a 
moment  he  asked  with  interest,  "  What  is  your  be- 
setting sin  ?  " 

"  I  really  don't  know." 

"  Pride,  sir,  pride.  I  would  rather  have  mine. 
Any  man  but  a  proud  man  can  be  helped.  Good- 
day,  and  thank  you."  He  arose  as  if  to  leave. 

"  I  hope  I  have  said  nothing  to  offend,"  I 
ventured. 

He  turned  abruptly  and  looked  at  me  curiously. 
"  Is  it  possible  you  do  not  understand  me  —  "  he 
laughed  good-naturedly  and  sat  down  again.  "  It 


g6  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

would  be  impossible  for  you  to  offend  me,"  he 
continued,  crossing  one  leg  carelessly  over  the 
other.  "Yes,  impossible,  whatever  you  might 
say.  Consolation  Temple  cannot  offend  me.  I 
tell  people  not  to  believe  her  words,  but  it  makes 
no  real  difference  to  me  whether  they  do  or  not. 
If  you  ever  go  to  a  place  called  Test  Your  Soul  — 
but  there,  there,  I  must  not  detain  you.  I  'm  apt 
to  tell  long  stories  of  strange  places  other  people 
can't  seem  to  find.  If  your  real  motive  in  giving 
Consolation  the  five  dollars  was  that  the  twins 
might  have  some  shoes,  no  matter  what  becomes  of 
the  money,  it  will  do  you  good  to  give  it,"  and  he 
laughed  again  his  low,  rather  musical  laugh. 

I  was  on  the  point  of  asking  for  a  story  of  one 
of  the  strange  places  when  I  heard  Mrs.  Moore 
calling  me,  and  locking  his  arm  in  mine  he  said, 
"  You  are  wanted  elsewhere,"  and  arm  in  arm  we 
left  the  garden. 

As  we  approached  the  house  I  saw  Maria  Wil- 
liams standing  on  the  piazza.  She  looked  at  us 
with  an  amused  smile  on  her  gentle  face,  and  I 
fancied  she  was  wondering  how  much  gold  the  old 
gentleman  had  given  me.  Perhaps  the  man  was  a 
harmless  lunatic,  and  she  thought  I  did  not  know 
it.  However  that  may  be,  I  saw  her  exchange 
glances  with  Mrs.  Moore  as  that  lady  came 
towards  us  saying,  "You  are  friends  with  Mr. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  97 

Hardy,  I  see,  Mr.  St.  Clair.  Now  you  must  make 
peace  with  my  sister,  Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  by  giving 
her  some  money  for  the  Heathen's  Bank.  It  will 
be  all  right;  tell  her  it  is  for  that  purpose,"  and 
she  formally  presented  Mr.  St.  Clair  to  her  sister- 
in-law,  when  I  saw  again  the  same  amused  smile 
on  the  face  of  Maria  Williams  as  we  all  sat  down 
together  upon  the  piazza. 

"  The  time  has  been,  Mrs.  Hardcreeder,"  said 
Mr.  St.  Clair,  "  when  I  could  have  given  thousands 
of  dollars  to  the  heathen ;  but  now  I  have 
nothing." 

"  Yes,  you  have,"  said  Mrs.  Moore,  persuasively. 

"  This  much  I  can  make  plain  to  you,  my  dear 
madam,"  he  said,  with  gentle  courtesy,  addressing 
Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  "  I  am  here  to  outgrow  a  fault, 
a  weakness  ;  I  must  learn  to  part  with  gold  without 
pain.  It  is  self-imposed,  —  the  task,  I  mean.  The 
truth  is,  I  have  no  gold.  I  could  explain  to  you 
why,  if  I  chose,  but  enough  that  I  have  none.  My 
kind  friend,  Mrs.  Moore,  lends  me  hers.  I  do  not 
give  it  away  to  give  any  one  the  idea  that  I  am 
generous.  I  usually  say  to  the  person  who  takes  it 
that  he  will  take  it  to  oblige  me  and  afterward  re- 
turn it  to  Mrs.  Moore,  or  her  son.  If  you  had  a 
weak  chest,  and  a  friend  offered  you  dumb  bells  to 
use  whenever  you  wanted  them  until  you  were 
strong,  you  would  have  the  same  right  to  give 
7 


98  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

away  those  dumb  bells  that  I  have  to  give  Mrs. 
Moore's  money  to  the  Heathen's  Bank." 

"  Yet  it  would  please  me,  Susannah,"  said  Mrs. 
Moore,  "if  you  would  accept  this  piece  Mr.  St. 
Clair  gave  you.  Take  it  and  credit  it  to  Paul  St. 
Clair." 

"I  will  not!"  said  Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  indig- 
nantly. "  liyou  feel  moved  to  give  it,  I  will  credit 
it  to  you  if  the  money  is  yours." 

"  Good  !  "  said  Paul  St.  Clair.  "  I  feel  the  jus- 
tice of  what  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  says." 

Before  we  had  finished  with  the  funds  of  the 
Heathen's  Bank,  Thurston  drove  up  with  Dwight 
Salem.  The  sight  of  Salem  made  me  uncom- 
fortable. 

He  came  up  the  steps,  I  thought,  with  the  air  of 
a  well-bred  boy  at  a  circus.  He  raised  his  glass 
and  looked  at  each  person  as  he  was  presented 
much  as  if  he  had  been  before  the  cage  of  curious 
animals.  When  he  came  to  me  he  shook  hands 
and  said,  "  It  is  no  suwpwise  to  find  you  at  The 
Poplaws.  I  saw  Mrs.  Davenpowt  this  mowning 
and  she  told  me  all  about  you." 

"  I  am  surprised  to  see  you,"  I  said  very 
honestly. 

"  Pwobably,"  he  returned  coolly. 

"He  met  Miss  Barry  yesterday,"  Thurston  ex- 
plained, "  and  she  persuaded  him  to  come  out  for 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  99 

the  fair  to-night.  If  Isador  Barry  ever  finds  her 
fortune  fled,  all  she  will  have  to  do  will  be  to  let 
herself  out  to  societies  during  their  fair  fevers  to 
rob  young  men." 

"  It  is  not  weally  a  bad  thing  to  be  wobbed 
sometimes,"  said  Salem  gallantly. 

I  was  not  sorry  when  I  learned  that  he  bad  only 
driven  out  with  Thurston,  but  was  going  imme- 
diately to  the  Barrys' ;  but  I  was  much  surprised 
at  his  coming  out  to  a  country  fair. 


ioo  A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MANY  incidents  occurred  during  my  visit  at 
The  Poplars  of  which  I  had  perfect  know- 
ledge, although  I  was  not  an  eye  witness. 

If  I  relate  any  of  them  I  shall  not  feel  obliged  to 
cite  my  authority ;  not  because  it  was  not  always 
the  best,  not  that  I  am  unwilling,  but  because  it  is 
unnecessary. 

Mrs.  Holt,  or  Aunt  Marthy,  as  Thurston  always 
called  the  stout  widow  of  their  old  farmer,  still 
lived  at  the  farmhouse,  although  a  young  man  had 
taken  the  position  left  vacant  by  her  husband. 
But  to  use  her  own  words,  this  boy  farmer  did  not 
live  at  the  farmhouse,  he  only  boarded  there. 

For  months  Aunt  Marthy  had  been  "  investiga- 
ting," and  her  peace  of  mind,  usually  so  well  estab- 
lished, had  been  for  weeks  almost  tottering  at  the 
success  which  old  Miss  Kimball's  niece,  Mandy 
Litchfield,  had  attained  as  a  medium.  Aunt  Mar- 
thy had  waited  with  great  patience,  but  in  vain,  for 
old  Miss  Kimball  to  develop,  and,  hidden  deep  in 
the  recesses  of  her  own  bosom,  lived  the  hope, 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  101 

none  the  less  strong  because  nourished  in  secret, 
that  some  day  she  might  become  a  medium 
herself. 

Honest,  strong-nerved,  unimaginative,  but  cred- 
ulous, Aunt  Marthy  with  pain  saw  others  possessed 
of  that  strange  power  which  was  so  far  beyond  her 
longing  grasp. 

Old  Miss  Kimball  could  not  sit  five  minutes  in 
the  circle  without  twitching,  or  sometimes  fairly 
jumping  to  her  feet,  so  strong  was  the  "  influence ; " 
but  Aunt  Marthy  never  moved.  After  the  mo- 
ment's death-like  silence  that  always  followed  the 
discordant  rendering  of  "  Nearer  my  God  to 
Thee,"  it  was  always  old  Miss  Kimball  who  sent 
forth  a  sigh  that  would  have  been  no  disgrace  to 
Aunt  Marthy's  huge  chimney  in  a  northeast  storm. 

Often  Aunt  Marthy  had  watched  her  old  friend 
as  she  sat  with  her  broad  bosom  shaken  by  sighs 
which  must  have  come  from  another  world,  and, 
like  the  winds  of  this,  gathered  force  as  they 
travelled,  and  often  too  as  they  sat  alone  with  the 
bare  kitchen  table  between  them  she  had  trembled 
as  she  thought  of  husband,  and  children,  perhaps, 
standing  beside  her;  and  the  full  lips  of  old  Miss 
Kimball  had  twitched,  and  opened  and  shut,  but 
strain  her  ears  as  best  she  was  able,  Aunt  Marthy 
never  caught  a  word. 

Poor  old  Miss  Kimball !     She  understood  the 


102  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

mechanical  part  of  it  fairly  well,  and  when  that 
was  accomplished,  nature,  perhaps  unwilling  that 
she  should  suffer  mortification,  always  granted  to 
her  a  sweet,  natural  sleep ;  which,  if  it  brought  no 
message  from  spirit  lands  to  Aunt  Marthy,  brought 
a  forgetfulness  of  defeat  to  the  portly  sleeper. 
Complete  forgetfulness,  for  when  she  finished  her 
slumber,  during  which  Aunt  Marthy  had  softly 
attended  to  many  little  duties,  she  always  looked 
up  at  the  clock  and  said,  "  O,  me  !  why  it 's  late, 
and  I  don't  remember  nothing." 

Then  if  the  night  was  cold,  she  had  a  glass  of 
hot  cider  or  composition ;  if  hot,  she  had  some- 
thing cooling ;  and  when  she  left  she  always  said, 
"  I  know  I  ain't  got  much  power  yet ;  but  if  it  is 
any  comfort,  I  '11  set  for  ye  any  time,  Marthy." 

At  such  times  Aunt  Marthy's  kindliness  of  heart 
came  up  and  crushed  the  faint  sense  of  the  ludi- 
crous that  struggled  a  moment  for  existence,  and 
as  she  said  "  Good-night,"  she  kissed  the  flabby 
cheek  of  her  old  friend,  who  had  been  with  her 
through  many  a  sorrow,  for  she  had  done  what 
she  could ;  and  when  Miss  KimbalPs  niece,  Mandy 
Litchfield,  proved  that  she  could  do  much  more, 
she  had  brought  her  to  Aunt  Marthy  and  resigned 
the  seat  of  honor. 

Mandy  Litchfield  was  a  medium-sized  woman  of 
thirty,  possibly  thirty-five  years.  She  had  small 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  103 

black  eyes,  and  dark,  tight-curling  hair.  Accord- 
ing to  her  own  story,  she  stitched  shoes,  and  was 
satisfied  with  the  occupation  and  what  it  brought 
her  until  one  day  as  she  sat  at  her  machine  her 
work  flew  suddenly  from  her  hand,  and  although 
she  jerked  it  back  with  as  much  force  as  her  indif- 
ferent and  negative  personality  could  command,  it 
refused  positively  to  remain  upon  the  machine. 
She  went  home  to  her  boarding-house,  and  as  she 
opened  the  door  of  her  room  the  framed  photo- 
graph of  her  dead  father  fell  to  the  floor,  but  was 
uninjured.  She  rehung  it ;  and,  as  she  turned 
from  it,  a  blue  mug,  bearing  the  words  "  Remem- 
ber me,"  in  gilt  letters,  flew  from  one  side  of  the 
mantelpiece  to  the  other.  She  was  not  a  very 
observing  person,  but  she  could  not  remember  ever 
to  have  seen  a  mug  perform  just  such  a  feat.  She 
returned  to  the  shoeshop  without  telling  any  one 
what  had  occurred,  and  found  that  nothing  could 
persuade  her  machine  to  take  a  stitch.  She  is  not 
sure,  but  she  thinks  she  was  a  little  pale  when  she 
asked  to  go  home  because  she  was  sick.  She 
wrote  to  her  aunt,  old  Miss  Kimball,  who  was  the 
only  relative  she  had  on  this  planet ;  and  al- 
though she  wrote  the  whole  truth,  she  received  an 
answer  by  return  mail  to  hasten  to  the  ample 
bosom  of  that  aunt,  who  asked  for  no  greater  honor 
than  to  have  a  blood  relation  a  powerful  medium. 


iO4  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

Wholly  unconscious  of  the  honor  that  the  praise 
hid  from  her  dull  perceptions,  Mandy  left  the  city 
of  shoes  and  in  time  became  one  of  the  most  won- 
derful materializers  of  the  present  day.  At  first,  it 
is  true,  only  hands  or  fingers  appeared  just  above 
the  edge  of  the  table,  —  or  faces,  minus  some 
important  feature,  which  to  nervous,  imaginative 
audiences  might  have  produced  uneasiness;  but 
in  old  Miss  Kimball's  little  parlor  the  audience  at 
first  consisted  only  of  Miss  Kimball  and  faithful 
Aunt  Marthy.  But,  in  time,  so  perfect  were  the 
productions,  that  even  Mandy  herself  could  not  tell 
them  from  mortals ;  and  many  a  time  a  merry 
ghost,  that  she  herself  had  given  visibility,  came 
and  talked  to  her  in  the  garden  or  at  the  market, 
and  when  it  suddenly  dissolved  she  would  say, 
"Why,  Aunt  Kimball,  that  was  a  spirit  !" 

In  spite  of  the  most  seductive  accounts  given  her 
by  her  honest  aunt  and  old  Miss  Kimball,  the  Emma 
Liz  remained  obstinately  indifferent,  and  refused 
even  to  accept  a  test  which  was  freely  offered  her 
daily.  When  the  Emma  Liz  and  the  tug,  as  Thurs- 
ton  called  Miss  Holt  and  Miss  Norton,  went  to  the 
guest-chamber  occupied  by  Miss  Norton,  the  bed 
was  piled  high  with  finery  of  all  colors,  and  the 
sight  of  it  seemed  to  add  to  the  trouble,  already 
too  plainly  marked,  in  the  face  of  the  Emma  Liz. 

"  I    am    all   upset,"  she    said    brokenly.      "  I 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  105 

have  n't  got  anybody  to  talk  to,  and  I  am  — " 
two  great  tears  finished  the  sentence  more  elo- 
quently than  any  words  could  have  done. 

Miss  Norton  took  one  of  the  girl's  great  hands 
between  her  own  small  palms,  and  missing  the 
regard-ring  which  she  had  seen  there  for  a  long 
time,  said,  "  Come,  Emma  Liz,  tell  me  all  about  it ; 
I  may  be  able  to  help  you." 

"It's  —  it's  all  up  with  Joe  and  I,"  said  the 
Emma  Liz,  with  a  sob  in  her  voice. 

"  Whose  fault  ?  "  demanded  the  swift  little  tug. 

"  Well,  first  he  took  Jane  Parker  to  a  stereop- 
ticon  show.  She  's  got  black  eyes.  [The  Emma 
Liz  had  eyes  like  blue  china.]  I  could  have 
forgot  that,  because  Jane's  brother  gave  him  the 
tickets,  thinking  he  'd  take  her ;  but  I  said  some- 
thing hateful,  and  he  —  but  that  ain't  what  I 
wanted  to  talk  about.  I  wanted  to  ask  you  if  you 
believed  in  Spiritualism?  Do  you  remember  one 
day  you  called,  and  old  Miss  Kimball  was  sitting 
by  the  kitchen  fire?  Now,  Aunt  Marthy  thinks 
she  —  old  Miss  Kimball  I  mean  —  is  a  great 
medium,  and  I  think  she  is  an  old  fool.  Why, 
one  day  Aunt  Marthy  told  her  she  didn't  have 
good  luck  at  all  this  year  with  the  bees,  and  Miss 
Kimball  said.  '  I  will  find  out  what  your  husband 
thinks  is  the  trouble.'  Then  she  sat  down  to 
the  table  with  Aunt  Marthy ;  and  there  they  sat, 


io6  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

and  would  have  sat  till  morning  (the  lamp  turned 
down  'till  it  smelt  like  Tophet)  if  I  had  n't  come  in 
from  singing-school  and  stirred  'em  up,  by  opening 
the  window  with  a  slam  and  turning  up  the  lamp. 

"  There  was  old  Miss  Kimball  as  sound  asleep 
as  if  she  had  been  in  her  bed  ;  but  they  tried  it 
again,  and  Aunt  Marthy  said  uncle  came  back  and 
told  her  to  remember  the  Sunday  she  came  home 
and  looked  into  the  hive  with  her  black  crape 
bonnet  on.  Bees  could  n't  work  if  black  crape 
looked  into  the  hive.  Now,  my  Uncle  Eben 
would  n't  know  the  difference  between  a  black 
crape  bonnet  and  a  green  gauze  cap  before  he 
died,  and  what  chance  has  he  had  since  to  find 
out  ?  I  won't  say  anything  about  Aunt  Marthy's 
heart ;  but  her  head  is  cracked  since  she  began  to 
investigate.  Since  uncle  died,  if  any  old  medium 
should  tell  her  to  paint  the  hogs  blue  and  yellow 
because  it  would  harmonize  with  the  influences  that 
hung  round  the  hog-pen,  why,  on  would  go  the 
blue  and  yellow  paint !  I  don't  know  what  you 
will  think  of  me  if  I  tell  you  that  after  all  this  talk 
against  them,  I  want  to  know  if  you  believe  Mrs. 
Temple  can  tell  anything  wonderful  that 's  going 
to  happen." 

Miss  Norton  looked  for  a  moment  into  the 
honest  eyes  of  the  unhappy  Emma  Liz,  then  said 
softly,  "  I  am  a  medium,  come  to  me  ;  it  will  cost 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  107 

you  nothing,  and  I  will  not  deceive  you.  I  can 
tell  you  the  future." 

"  I  did  n't  think  you  would  make  fun  of  me,  Miss 
Norton ;  "  and  the  girl's  red  lips  trembled. 

"  Don't  let  us  waste  time ;  you  are  unhappy,  and 
I  want  to  help  you.  I  wanted  to  ask  you  about 
the  fair  at  the  town  hall  to-night.  Thurston  said 
just  as  he  was  leaving  this  morning  that  everybody 
would  have  to  go.  I  forgot  to  ask  what  was  the 
object  of  the  fair." 

"  What  is  it  for  ?  It  is  to  get  money  to  buy 
books  for  the  town  library.  Ain't  you  going  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  'm  going.  Thurston  said  every- 
body must  go  :  and  I  want  you  to  go  with  me." 

"  I  don't  want  to  go,"  said  the  Emma  Liz,  fond- 
ling some  of  the  finery  on  the  bed.  "  Is  that  Mr. 
Hardy  going  ?  How  easy  you  make  new  friends, 
Miss  Norton !  " 

"  I  like  new  friends  and  new  clothes,  Emma  Liz  ; 
and  I  would  like  to  throw  both  aside  before  I 
discover  any  spots." 

"  Old  clothes  are  the  most  comfortable,  and  I 
like  old  friends  best,  whether  they  like  me  or  not,  " 
and  the  tears  came  again  in  her  bright  blue  eyes. 

"  Do  you  know,"  cried  the  tug,  impatiently,  "  if 
all  the  tears  that  silly  girls  have  shed  since  the 
world  began  for  foolish  men  whom  they  could  have 
kept  at  their  feet  if  they  had  only  kept  their  eyes 


io8  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

bright  and  their  noses  white  —  where  was  I  ?  Oh, 
if  they  could  only  be  collected,  —  the  tears,  I  mean, 
—  and  made  into  a  great  sea,  it  would  cover  the 
earth,  and  you  and  I  would  have  to  choose  between 
being  a  mermaid  or  drowning.  Now,  if  the  Emma 
Liz  will  take  my  advice,  she  will  wipe  off  her  decks, 
shine  up  her  brasses,  and  let  fly  all  the  bunting  she 
can  raise,  —  I  have  great  faith  in  bunting,  —  and 
sail  straight  into  the  harbor  of  success." 

"  Lands  sakes  !  "  gasped  the  Emma  Liz,  as  the 
tug  wheeled  her  about  to  catch  a  breeze  of  inspira- 
tion, "  I  don't  know  what  you  are  talking  about !  " 

"Then  farewell  to  metaphor,  Miss  Emma  Liz; 
here  's  a  plain  statement :  Go  with  me  to-night  in 
the  prettiest  dress  you  can  get,  —  let  me  dress  you ; 
forget  that  there  exists  in  nature  such  a  creature 
as  Joe.  Enjoy  yourself,  and  everybody  else.  Let 
Mr.  Joe  see  you  are  not  dependent  on  him  for  a 
good  time.  Of  course  he  will  be  there." 

"  He  invited  me  to  go  ;  but  I  have  written  him  I 
I  can't.  Now,  could  I  go  with  you  after  that  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  prefer  to  go  with  me  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Always  do  as  you  prefer,  when  there  is  nothing 
serious  to  prevent.  You  and  Mr.  Hardy,  and 
Thurston  and  I,  will  make  a  very  amiable  quartet. 
Remember,  I  am  to  dress  you.  Employ  no 
medium  but  me  ! " 


A  Fearless  Investigator,  109 


CHAPTER    VII. 

"  \1  7ILL  you  do  me  a  favor,  Mr.  Hardy?"  Miss 

V  V  Norton  asked,  taking  me  into  a  corner 
after  dinner. 

"  I  will  enter  into  no  conspiracy,"  I  said,  think- 
ing of  Thurston  and  the  masquerade  party. 

"  It  is  hardly  worthy  of  the  name  'conspiracy,'  " 
she  said,  smiling.  "  I  have  invited  the  Emma  Liz, 
Miss  Holt,  I  should  say  —  to  go  with  me  to  the 
fair  to-night,  and  I  want  you  to  make  yourself 
conspicuously  agreeable  to  her." 

"  '  Conspicuously  agreeable,'  "  I  repeated.  From 
the  union  of  the  two  words,  there  was  born  in  a 
moment  in  my  mind  an  endless  train  of  possibili- 
ties. "  I  am  afraid  I  don't  understand  you,  Miss 
Norton." 

"  I  feel  as  if  I  had  no  right  to  explain,"  she  said 
frankly;  "and  yet  I  have  less  right  to  ask  a 
decided  favor  of  you." 

"  About  the  explanation,  I  cannot  judge ;  as  to 
the  favor,  you  have  but  to  command." 


no  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  Then  you  will  do  as  I  ask  you  ?  " 

"What  do  you  mean,  —  be  the  conspicuously 
agreeable  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  What  will  be  my  reward  ?  " 

"  Oh,  dear ! "  she  sighed,  "  is  it  possible  you 
never  do  good  for  the  sake  of  the  good  ?  " 

"  No,  not  yet ;  I  have  just  reached  the  stage 
where  I  am  willing  to  do  good  for  a  reward." 

"You  shall  have  it,"  she  said  quickly, —  "the 
reward." 

"  But  I  may  not  be  satisfied  with  what  you  call 
a  reward,  Miss  Norton  ;  we  might  call  it  a  relative 
term." 

"  But  you  shall  be  satisfied.  You  shall  have  a 
reward,  if  it  be  the  half  of  my  kingdom."  She 
held  out  her  hand,  and  as  I  took  it  I  saw  Thurston 
come  to  the  door ;  he  turned  quickly  away,  but  not 
before  I  saw  a  look  of  something  like  terror  in  his 
black  eyes.  Miss  Norton  stood  with  her  back  to 
the  door,  and  did  not  see  him. 

"  Let  me  understand,"  I  said,  a  little  absently, 
for  I  was  thinking  of  Thurston.  "  I  am  to  be  con- 
spicuously agreeable  to  the  Emma  Liz ;  and  if  I 
please  to  demand  so  much,  I  shall  have  the  half  of 
your  kingdom." 

"  Agreed,"  she  said ;  "  and  I  am  sure  that  what 
you  promise,  you  will  do." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  1 1 1 

Very  soon  after,  Mrs.  Moore,  Maria  Williams, 
Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  and  Thurston  went  to  the  town 
hall.  They  were  all  engaged  in  one  department 
or  another  of  the  fair.  At  eight  o'clock  the  car- 
riage came  back,  and  Miss  Norton,  the  Emma  Liz, 
and  I  were  driven  down.  When  we  reached  the 
hall.  Miss  Norton  said, — 

"Remember,  Miss  Emma  Liz,  Mr.  Hardy  is 
your  cavalier  for  this  evening;  but  he  is  a  con- 
valescent :  do  not  forget  this,  and  deal  very  gently 
with  him." 

The  Emma  Liz  blushed  violently  and  looked 
very  uncomfortable,  which  was  hardly  flattering  to 
me;  and  I  sincerely  wished,  as  I  offered  her  my 
arm,  that  a  more  appreciative  pilot  was  going  to 
take  her  in  tow.  She  accepted  my  arm,  standing 
at  such  a  distance  from  me  I  wondered  if  she  had 
heard  of  my  fiend.  I  wanted  to  tell  her  to  have  no 
alarm,  as  I  grew  more  fastidious  every  hour,  when 
suddenly  she  said,  — 

"Miss  Norton  has  left  us.  See,  there  she  is; 
shall  we  follow  her  ?  " 

"  Miss  Norton  seems  to  be  quite  indifferent  to 
us,"  I  replied.  "  Let  us  go  about,  and  see  all  there 
is  to  be  seen." 

I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  keep  my  promise  to 
the  letter,  and  also  to  demand  my  reward  in  the 
same  literal  manner.  We  crossed  the  hall  to  the 


H2  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

flower-stand,  and  I  bought  the  largest  bouquet  there 
and  presented  it  to  the  Emma  Liz.  Poor  Tom 
Davenport ! 

Next,  we  went  to  a  large  bower  hung  with  paper 
roses  and  Chinese  lanterns,  where  we  learned  from 
a  huge  placard  that  Rebekah  from  her  well  drew 
cool  lemonade  for  five  cents  a  glass.  We  looked 
between  the  swinging  lanterns  and  the  swaying 
paper  roses,  and  saw  Rebekah  ;  and  if  Rebekah  of 
old  was  half  as  clever  as  this  drawer  of  cool  lemon- 
ade, no  wonder  that  the  innocent  old  Isaac  was 
deceived  by  her,  —  for  as  her  eyes  fell  upon  me, 
they  were  the  eyes  of  Consolation  Temple.  I 
thought  she  looked  coldly  upon  the  Emma  Liz, 
who  appeared  to  bear  it  very  well ;  but  she  shook 
me  warmly  by  the  hand,  and  asked  me  if  I  had 
seen  the  little  Fate  ladies.  I  told  her  I  had  seen 
nothing  as  yet ;  and  she  pointed  to  a  corner,  where 
I  saw  only  a  crowd  of  people. 

"Go,  see  them,"  she  said  sweetly;  "and  then 
come  back  and  tell  me  what  you  think  of  them." 

We  had  to  wait  some  time  before  we  could  get 
near  enough  to  see  anything;  but  when  I  saw  a 
little  break  in  the  crowd,  I  told  the  Emma  Liz  to 
bear  down  on  them,  and  we  were  able  after  a  few 
minutes  to  get  a  sight  of  two  tables.  In  the  centre 
of  each  table  stood  one  of  the  infant  protoplasts, 
with  a  silver  wand  in  her  hand.  One  table  was 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  113 

for  youths  who  desired  to  know  their  destinies; 
the  other  for  maidens.  The  tables  were  marked 
off  in  squares,  each  square  containing  a  little  roll 
of  paper.  The  twins  were  blinded,  and  then  with 
their  silver  wands  they  pointed  to  a  square ;  and 
there  lay  the  fate  of  him,  or  her,  who  had  paid  to 
know  the  future. 

As  we  approached,  I  saw  near  the  youths'  table 
a  tall  young  man,  with  hair  smoothed  down  like  a 
miniature  peninsula  on  his  forehead.  He  had  just 
paid  to  learn  his  fate ;  but  as  he  looked  up  and 
saw  us  he  became  agitated  and,  after  staring  at  me 
as  if  I  belonged  to  some  unclassified  species,  turned 
away,  leaving  his  money  at  the  feet  of  the  infant 
protoplast.  I  afterwards  learned  he  was  a  grocer's 
clerk,  who  had  won  the  heart  of  the  Emma  Liz. 
As  he  fled,  she  said  to  me,  — 

"  Mrs.  Temple  must  have  had  a  windfall  by  the 
looks  of  the  twins.  Yesterday  she  was  trying  to 
borrow  a  sash  of  me,  but  I  hadn't  any  good 
enough." 

Could  it  be  that  the  initiation  fees  of  Calvin, 
Sterne,  Gray,  and  George  Sand  had  helped  to  deck 
the  poor  little  Fate  ladies,  and  would  these  gen- 
iuses approve  of  the  appropriation  ?  Why  should 
I  feel  responsible  ?  And  yet  when  I  thought  of 
the  north  point  of  my  compass,  the  bright  red 
sashes  of  the  poor  little  protoplasts  seemed  like 


ii4  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

belts  of  flame.  I  was  sure  at  that  same  instant 
that  Calvin  himself  had  put  the  idea  into  my  mind, 
and  for  some  time  I  felt  weary  and  depressed ;  so 
much  so  that  my  companion  said  kindly, — 

"  You  are  having  a  horrid  time,  Mr.  Hardy,  and 
you  look  tired  half  to  death ;  you  better  sit  down 
a  little  while.  You  know  you  ain't  very  strong 
yet." 

We  wandered  aimlessly  about,  but  I  was  as 
conspicuously  agreeable  all  the  time  as  I  could 
possibly  be,  and  soon  found  ourselves  again  at 
Rebekah's  well.  This  time  I  noticed  that  Rebekah 
had  a  handmaid,  who  dipped  the  beverage  from 
the  evergreen  covered  tub  and  gave  it  to  the 
thirsty  ones ;  in  fact,  I  noticed  that  the  beautiful 
Rebekah  was  not  there  for  service.  She  could  dis- 
cern a  thirsty  camel  at  a  good  distance ;  but  when 
it  drew  near,  she  handed  it  over  to  the  untiring 
little  handmaiden,  after  she  had  received  the  price. 
She  made  room  for  us  to  sit  down  even  beside  the 
well ;  but  I  had  caught  sight  of  Thurston  and  Miss 
Norton.  I  saw  that  Thurston  had  started  to  come 
towards  us,  but  Miss  Norton  had  prevented  it  with 
a  word.  They  turned,  smiling,  and  walked  an- 
other way.  I  had  believed  that  Thurston  was 
willing  to  keep  me  separated  from  Miss  Norton ; 
now  I  saw  that  it  was  she  who  desired  to  keep 
Thurston  from  me.  Perhaps  she  was  not  going 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  115 

to  wait  until  the  masquerade  party  to  "fathom 
him." 

"  Let  us  go  to  the  lemonade  bower,"  I  said, 
"  and  sit  down  a  few  minutes.  Do  you  suppose 
Rebekah  will  offer  us  seats  after  we  refused 
them?  " 

"  She  won't  be  over  and  above  anxious  to  sit  me 
down  in  the  bower,"  said  the  Emma  Liz,  with  a 
short  laugh.  "  She  was  sweet  enough  to  me  this 
morning,  when  she  wanted  to  get  something  of  me, 
but  to-night  she  is  sour  as  a  lemon.  She  only 
cares  for  the  farmhouse  when  the  big  house  won't 
take  her  in.  Do  you  think  she  is  a  handsome 
woman  ?  " 

"  Yes,  very  handsome,"  I  answered,  without 
hesitation. 

"  Land,  Mr.  Hardy,  you  don't !  Why,  she  is  as 
wicked  as  Satan." 

"  Then  you  don't  think  the  devil's  beauty 
counts,  Miss  Emma  Liz?" 

"  No,  I  don't,"  she  said  firmly ;  "  and  if  you 
think  Mrs.  Temple  is  a  beauty,  I  am  sorry  for 
you." 

"  Why  ?  "  I  asked,  much  amused. 

"  Because  she  will  take  you  in." 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"  Ask  Thurston  about  the  half  eye-glass  man." 

"  Won't  you  tell  me  about  him  ?  " 


n6  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  No." 

"  And  you  really  would  not  advise  our  taking 
seats  in  the  lemonade  bower  ?  " 

"  We  had  better  go  sit  down  with  Mrs.  Williams, 
I  think;  we  have  not  been  near  her  table  yet. 
There  is  Mrs.  Moore  beckoning  to  us  now." 

We  made  our  way  with  some  difficulty  to  a  table 
where  Mrs.  Moore  and  her  sister-in-law  were  sell- 
ing things,  which  Mrs.  Moore  herself  admitted 
were  made  for  no  purpose  except  to  sell.  At  the 
table  I  found  the  charming  Miss  Barry,  who  sold 
me  some  infants'  shoes  made  of  silk,  which  she  de- 
clared was  the  latest  design  for  tobacco  pouches. 
Thurston  told  me  afterward  that  even  his  mother 
would  lie  at  a  fair  held  to  put  good,  moral  reading 
into  the  town  library.  Mrs.  Moore  asked  the 
Emma  Liz  to  take  her  place  at  the  table  while  she 
walked  about  with  me,  and  that  young  lady  agreed 
as  quickly  as  if  I  had  been  the  most  tiresome  of 
escorts ;  but  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  be  as  con- 
spicuous as  possible,  and  told  Mrs.  Moore  that 
the  young  lady  had  been  put  in  my  care  by  Miss 
Norton,  and  I  could  not  deliver  her  into  any  other 
hands.  Mrs.  Moore  smiled  a  faint  little  smile,  and 
the  Emma  Liz  and  I  sailed  on  once  more. 

When  we  passed  Rebekah  again,  I  was  surprised 
to  see  a  young  man  sitting  beside  her,  whom  I  re- 
cognized immediately  as  Dwight  Salem.  Could  it 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  1 1  7 

be  for  this  he  had  come  to  the  fair  ?  As  well  as  I 
knew  him,  I  could  not  believe  that  I  saw  aright, 
and  asked  who  it  was  talking  with  Mrs.  Temple. 

The  Emma  Liz  gave  a  disdainful  little  grunt. 
"  That  is  the  one  I  meant,  the  half  eye-glass  fellow. 
I  think  somebody  ought  to  take  care  of  him.  I 
told  Thurston  so  one  day,  but  he  only  laughed. 
That  Consolation  Temple  has  got  a  rope  round 
the  little  fellow's  neck,  and  she  can  lead  him  any- 
where she  likes ;  and  he  belongs  to  that  great 
Salem  family,  one  of  the  best  families  in  Boston, 
—  '  truly  bluely  blood,'  Thurston  says.  Now,  ain't 
it  too  bad  ?  Oh,  it  makes  me  sick !  I  want  to 
open  his  eyes.  I  wish  he  'd  get  a  whole  pair  of 
glasses,  then  perhaps  he  would  see  something." 

"  I  doubt  if  he  saw  any  more,"  said  I. 

"  Do  you  know  him  ?  "  she  asked  in  surprise. 

«  Well  —  yes." 

"  It  is  true,  all  the  same,  what  I  have  said,"  she 
continued,  after  a  pause.  "  Why  don't  you  tell 
him  just  what  she  is  ? " 

"  I  don't  know  just  what  she  is." 

"  It 's  nothing  to  me,  nothing  ;  only  I  hate  to  see 
any  one  made  a  fool  of.  To-day,  when  I  was  up  in 
Miss  Norton's  room,  I  saw  you  in  the  garden  with 
that  woman,  and  I  told  Miss  Norton  I  thought  it 
was  her  duty  to  go  tell  you  what  she  was  ;  but  she 
said  you  wasn  't  the  kind  that  got  hurt,  and  if  Con- 


n8  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

solation  Temple  got  a  few  dollars,  it  would  n't 
hurt  you  any,  —  you  had  plenty  of  them.  I  never 
saw  anybody  like  Miss  Norton,  did  you  ?  " 

"  No,  I  don't  think  I  ever  did,"  I  replied.  Was 
it  possible  that  Miss  Norton  did  not  know  that 
now  I  was  penniless  ? 

We  had  taken  seats  on  a  settee  not  far  from  the 
lemonade  bower.  It  was  not  as  conspicuous  per- 
haps as  Miss  Norton  had  desired,  but  it  was  the 
only  resting-place  we  could  find ;  and  I  thought  if 
I  told  her  my  legs  were  failing  me,  she  would  par- 
don it.  When  we  sat  down,  I  saw  the  same  young 
man  I  had  seen  at  the  fate  table  watching  us,  and 
I  asked  the  Emma  Liz  if  she  knew  him. 

"  Yes,"  she  said  coldly ;  "  it 's  Joe  Barker." 

"  Have  you  noticed,"  I  asked,  "how  much  inter- 
est he  appears  to  take  in  us  ?  " 

"  Does  he  ?  "  she  returned,  indifferently ;  but  a 
moment  after  I  saw  that  her  round  eyes  looked 
troubled. 

"  I  have  an  intuitive  feeling  that  that  fellow 
does  n't  like  me,  Miss  Emma  Liz." 

"  Why  ?  "     She  was  blushing  a  little. 

"  I  don't  know,  but  I  don't  like  the  way  he  looks 
at  me.  "  Who  is  he  ?  " 

She  laughed  nervously,  and  said  he  was  in 
Perkins's  grocery  store. 

"  I  suppose  he  could  balance  a  barrel  of  flour  in 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  119 

one  hand,  and  a  barrel  of  molasses  in  the  other, 
with  ease  ?  " 

"  He  is  very  strong,"  she  said  simply. 

"  Does  he  admire  you  ?  " 

She  hesitated  a  moment,  then  said  quietly, 
"  No." 

"  I  am  very  glad  ;  I  don't  like  the  way  he  looks 
at  me,  for  I  am  not  quite  equal  yet  to  meeting  a 
man  who  can  wield  a  barrel  of  flour  as  easily  as  I 
could  a  loaf  of  bread." 

"  I  don't  see  any  reason  why  you  should  make 
fun  of  him."  She  spoke  a  little  sharply. 

"  I  make  fun  of  him  !  I  beg  of  you  don't  start 
any  such  report  as  that ;  and  present  me  to  him, 
please,  that  I  may  make  friends  with  him 
immediately." 

"  No  !  I  can't  do  that,  Mr.  Hardy,  because  we 
don't  speak  now.  Never  mind  about  him  ;  look  at 
Mrs.  Temple  and  her  little  fop." 

I  had  in  truth  been  giving  but  a  small  part  of 
my  thoughts  to  my  companion ;  for  in  spite  of  my 
dislike  to  D wight  Salem,  my  respect  for  his  sister 
had  forced  me  to  take  notice  of  him  and  the  fair 
Rebekah.  She  had  yielded  now  even  the  taking 
of  the  price  to  her  little  handmaiden,  and  sat  in 
the  centre  of  the  bower,  with  Dwight  Salem  beside 
her ;  but  I  saw  that  her  attention  was  divided,  and 
thought  the  greater  share  was  bestowed  upon  a 


1 20  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

large  man  who  leaned  against  the  bower  on  the 
outside  than  upon  the  dainty  little  man  beside  her. 

"I  am  sure,  Miss  Emma  Liz,"  I  said,  "that 
even  with  your  strong  prejudice  you  must  admit 
that  Rebekah  is  looking  remarkably  handsome  this 
evening." 

"  Not  to  my  eyes,"  she  said  savagely. 

"  I  don't  like  to  see  any  one  so  young  as  you  so 
blinded  by  prejudice,"  I  said  gently,  watching  her 
face,  which  I  thought  for  the  moment  was  almost 
pretty.  Either  from  heat  or  fatigue,  she  had 
seemed  to  grow  paler  and  paler ;  the  bright  red  in 
her  cheeks  had  faded  entirely  away,  and  a  sad 
look  had  come  to  her  eyes. 

"  I  don't  care  what  you  call  it,"  she  said  ;  "  but 
if  I  saw  a  great  tiger  coming  slowly  along,  just 
looking  out  of  his  eyes  on  one  side,  then  on  the 
other,  for  something  to  devour,  I  would  n't  care 
how  handsome  he  was :  the  sooner  I  saw  him 
shot,  and  his  fine  skin  torn  off  of  him,  the  better  I  'd 
like  it.  I  suppose  it  would  be  more  artistic  to 
admire  him,  and  praise  his  eyes,  and  say  his  teeth 
were  beautiful ;  but  I  ain't  artistic.  I  'd  take  a 
double-barrel  gun  and  shoot  him  anywhere,  and 
not  mind  tearing  his  fine  skin  neither.  You  may 
laugh  ;  but  you  wait :  you  see  if  there  ain't  trouble 
for  somebody ! "  She  turned  as  she  spoke,  look- 
ing me  straight  in  the  face. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  121 

"  Who  is  that  large  man  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  don't  know  his  name,"  she  replied  indiffer- 
ently, burying  her  nose  in  her  bouquet. 

"  That  is  Ebenezer  Samson,"  said  a  voice  behind 
us;  and  looking  up,  we  saw  Thurston  Moore. 

"  Truly,  this  is  the  first  time  since  you  came 
into  the  hall,"  he  said,  "  that  I  could  get  near  you. 
Clara  has  seemed  almost  determined  that  I  should 
not  speak  to  you." 

"  He  appeared  to  bear  the  separation  well," 
said  I.  "  Don't  you  think  so,  Miss  Emma  Liz?" 

"  He  bore  it  like  a  major,"  she  returned  laugh- 
ing; but  suddenly  her  face  grew  serious  again, 
and  she  said  in  low  tone  to  Thurston,  "  Is  that 
little  half  eye-glass  man  a  friend  of  yours  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Thurston,  "  only  an  acquaintance ; 
he  is  a  friend  of  Mr.  Hardy's." 

"  His  sister  and  mine  are  warm  friends,"  I 
exclaimed. 

"  Don't  either  of  you  seem  very  fond  of  him," 
she  murmured,  looking  towards  the  bower. 

"  Don't  worry  about  him,"  said  Thurston.  "  He 
is  only  making  a  study  of  Rebekah.  The  only 
harm  she  could  do  would  be  to  pick  his  pockets, 
and  he  has  money  enough."  , 

Surely,  to  watch  D wight  Salem  one  would  not 
think  him  in  much  danger.  He  sat  listlessly  look- 
ing out  between  the  swinging  lanterns,  —  some- 


122  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

times  speaking  to  the  large  man  outside,  some- 
times adjusting  his  monocle  and  looking  about  the 
hall;  never  was  he  apparently  absorbed  in  the 
fair  Rebekah.  I  was  puzzled  as  I  watched  him. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  hall  was  cleared  for  dancing. 
I  did  not  dance,  owing  to  the  shakiness  of  my 
legs ;  but,  in  spite  of  every  hindrance  put  in  my 
way  by  Thurston,  I  devoted  myself  entirely  to  the 
Emma  Liz.  I  kept  her  card  full,  and  even  held 
her  big  bouquet  while  she  danced  with  more  for- 
tunate men. 

Among  the  dancers  was  Consolation  Temple  ;  I 
thought  she  looked  even  handsomer  in  her  well- 
fitting  dark  gown  than  she  had  looked  in  the 
bright  costume  of  Rebekah.  She  danced  a  few 
times,  but  Dwight  Salem  did  not  dance  at  all.  I 
was  surprised,  and  told  him  so  as  he  took  a  seat 
beside  me. 

"  Gweat  bowe,"  he  drawled.  "  I  am  Miss 
Bawwy's  guest.  She  is  counting  up  hew  money ; 
she  is  devilish  neah  becoming  a  misah.  I  hate 
misahs,  but  she  is  the  only  lady  heah  I  would 
dance  with." 

"  Rebekah  is  dancing,"  I  observed. 

^  Webekah  ?  Oh,  yes,  —  Mrs.  Temple.  Fine 
woman.  Whewe  's  your  wustic  beauty  ?  I  nevew 
should  have  looked  fow  you  in  a  cornah  with  a 
wustic  beauty." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  123 

"  You  don't  always  find  people  where  you  look 
for  them,"  I  returned,  trying  to  conceal  the  irrita- 
tion his  words  had  caused. 

"  That 's  twue,  that 's  twue,"  he  said,  a  little 
absently.  "  The  devil  is  the  only  one  who  always 
knows  just  whewe  to  find  a  man." 

It  did  not  seem  to  me  possible  that  it  was 
Dwight  Salem  who  spoke.  As  he  saw  Thurston 
coming  with  Miss  Norton,  he  arose  and  walked 
slowly  away.  I  did  not  see  him  again  that  night. 

I  was  glad  enough  when  Miss  Norton  said, 
"  We  are  going  home,  Mr.  Hardy,  as  soon  as  this 
waltz  is  over." 

In  a  moment  she  was  whirling  away,  with 
Thurston's  arm  about  her  waist ;  and  I  could  not 
help  thinking  bitterly  that  she  was  enjoying  the 
"  fathoming." 

As  we  drove  home,  —  Mrs.  Hardcreeder,  Miss 
Norton,  the  Emma  Liz  and  I,  for  Mrs.  Moore 
and  Thurston  were  obliged  to  wait  an  hour  later, 
—  the  Emma  Liz  said, — 

"  Mr.  Hardy,  did  you  see  poor  Mr.  Temple 
trying  to  wake  up  the  twins  ?  Poor  little  things  ! 
They  fell  asleep  on  the  table,  and  there  your  hand- 
some Rebekah  left  them  while  she  went  away  to 
dance.  Ugh!  how  I  despise  her!  Handsome! 
And  I  don't  think  much  more  of  her  husband ;  he 
don't  know  enough  to  go  in  when  it  rains." 


124  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  But  he  does  know  that  a  protoplast  could  roll 
off  a  table,"  said  Miss  Norton;  "and  he  put  the 
poor  things  on  a  settee.  I  know  they  must  have 
been  tired  and  cross ;  but  they  did  not  cry  when 
he  moved  them,  although  Thurston  said  he  lifted 
them  by  their  heads.  I  never  heard  them  cry.  Did 
you,  Miss  Emma  Liz  ?  " 

"  Cry  ?  No  !  you  'd  have  to  put  them  in  vine- 
gar half  the  time  to  see  if  they  was  alive,"  said  the 
Emma  Liz,  scornfully. 

"Poor  babes!"  sighed  Mrs.  Hardcreeder;  "it 
seems  a  pity  they  could  not  be  adopted  by  some 
Christian  family.  They  are  not  to  blame." 

"  I  wonder  what  Consolation  would  say  to  that 
idea ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Norton.  "  She  considers 
herself  about  one  hundred  years  in  advance  of 
most  Christians." 

"  Perhaps  she  is,"  said  Mrs.  Hardcreeder  ;  "  but 
I  believe  we  ought  to  have  asylums  for  people  who 
are  as  far  advanced  as  that." 

"  Then  we  ought  to  have  asylums  for  those 
people  who  are  as  far  behind  the  times,"  said 
Miss  Norton. 

"Don't  build  too  many,"  I  begged,  "for  we 
should  ourselves  be  sure  to  be  found  fitted  for  one 
of  them." 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Miss  Norton;  "we  four  would 
be  a  special  committee  to  decide  who  should  be 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  125 

forced  to   retire,  and  which   asylum   they  should 
enter." 

"  I  was  in  earnest  in  what  I  said,"  Mrs.  Hard- 
creeder  remarked  coldly. 

"  I  don't  believe,  if  we  could,  there  is  one  of  us 
that  would  shut  a  person  up,"  said  Miss  Norton, 
"  brave  as  we  are  to  talk." 

"  We  are  talking  idly,"  said  Mrs.  Hardcreeder ; 
and  every  one  was  silent  until  we  reached  The 
Poplars  and  stopped  at  the  farmhouse  to  leave 
the  Emma  Liz.  I  went  with  her  to  the  door,  and 
as  I  turned  to  leave  she  said  in  a  low  tone,  — 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  politeness  to  me  to-night, 
Mr.  Hardy,  although  I  can't  understand  it.  Good 
night,  sir." 

There  was  a  native  dignity  in  her  tone  which  I 
had  not  noticed  before,  and  something  which 
made  me  feel  that  however  courteous  I  had  been, 
my  conduct  had  been  marred  by  something.  Was 
it  condescension  ? 


126  A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  next  day  I  met  Miss  Norton  coming  from 
the  farmhouse.  She  looked  very  pretty,  and 
I  thought  quite  happy. 

"  It  is  all  right,"  she  whispered,  "  and  all  owing 
to  your  being  conspicuously  agreeable." 

"  I  don't  consider  myself  a  very  curious  man ; 
but  as  it  is  all  owing  to  anything  I  have  done,  I 
feel  as  if  I  had  a  right  to  ask,  What  is  all  right? " 

"  The  Emma  Liz  and  her  affairs.  Oh  !  I  believe 
we  owe  a  great  deal  to  that  big  bouquet !  That 
was  an  inspiration  !  " 

"  Yes,"  I  said  vaguely,  "  that  was  an  in- 
spiration ! " 

"  Did  you  see  him  following  you  about  ?  Some- 
times I  was  afraid  he  would  hurt  you,  and  you 
looked  so  ill." 

"  Do  you  mean  Perkins'  clerk  ?  " 

"  Yes,  1  mean  poor  Joe  Barker.  I  think  if  you 
had  danced  with  the  Emma  Liz,  he  would  have 
killed  you  !  "  she  cried,  sitting  down  upon  a  bank 
and  laughing  merrily.  «  But  it  is  all  right  now ; 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  127 

he  was  at  the  farmhouse  before  breakfast  this 
morning.  It  is  all  right,  and  I  am  so  glad,  and 
here  we  are  laughing  at  them." 

"  You  will  be  good  enough  not  to  include  me, 
Miss  Norton.  I  am  not  laughing." 

"  You  did  keep  your  promise  faithfully ;  but  do 
you  suppose  it  was  no  effort  for  me  to  keep 
Thurston  from  you  and  pacify  Mrs.  Moore  when 
between  sales  she  looked  to  find  you  always  bored? 
But,  tell  me,  did  n't  the  Emma  Liz  look  pretty  ? 
And  are  n't  you  glad  to  know  that  anybody  is 
happy  in  this  miserable  —  I  mean  this  delightful 
world  ?  " 

"  You  are  quite  sure  somebody  is  happy  ?  " 

"  You  should  see  the  Emma  Liz  !  Dear,  faith- 
ful girl,  it  cut  her  to  the  heart  to  see  poor  Joe  so 
wretched  last  night;  and  she  would  have  been  glad 
to  go  home, — glad  to  do  anything  to  spare  him 
the  pain  of  seeing  her  in  such  fine  company ;  but 
she  promised  to  obey  me  during  the  evening,  and 
she  kept  her  word.  To-day  she  is  all  gratitude  ; 
and  you,  and  Thurston  and  I  shall  all  dance  at  the 
wedding !  " 

"  And  my  reward  ?  "  I  said  humbly. 

"  Your  reward  ?     Why,  go  look  at  them  !  " 

"  The  promise  was  the  half  of  your  kingdom,  I 
thought." 

"  Certainly,"  she  said  with  a  funny  little  laugh, 
—  "  if  you  demanded  it." 


128  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  I  do  demand  it,  Miss  Norton." 

"  Which  half  will  you  have  ?  " 

"  The  only  half  that  you  have  any  right  to 
give." 

"  I  must  give  up  your  riddle,  Mr.  Hardy.  You 
must  name  your  reward  if  you  hope  to  receive  it." 

"  Then  I  must  put  it  in  very  plain  terms.  Every 
woman's  kingdom  is  divided  into  two  territories  : 
one  she  has  the  right  to  bestow  wherever  she  will ; 
the  other  gives  itself  wherever  it  chooses.  Her 
kingdom  is  her  heart  and  her  hand.  I  have  kept 
my  promise.  I  claim  my  reward." 

I  had  composed  this  little  declaration  while  I 
was  walking  with  the  Emma  Liz  at  the  fair.  I 
had  admired  it  then  as  much  as  any  modest  man 
could  admire  his  own  production ;  but  as  I 
repeated  it  now,  looking  down  into  the  frank, 
handsome  face  before  me,  it  sounded  more  foolish 
than  brilliant.  But  I  satisfied  myself  with  the 
mental  comment  that  there  was  no  affectation  of 
any  passion  I*  did  not  feel,  nor  any  expectation  of 
any  from  any  quarter.  From  the  moment  I  drove 
the  face  of  Jeannette  Carlton  from  my  thoughts,  I 
had  determined  to  marry  a  woman  with  money ; 
but  one  who  could  claim  no  sentiment  from  me, 
and  from  whom  I  asked  none.  Where  could  1 
find  one  so  perfectly  adapted  to  my  idea  as  Miss 
Norton  ? 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  129 

She  looked  at  me  for  a  moment,  then  said 
smiling,  "  Am  I  very  dull  ?  I  do  not  understand 
you." 

"  I  ask  for  the  half  of  your  kingdom  that  you 
have  a  right  to  bestow,"  I  said  coolly. 

She  was  not  proud  and  calm,  like  Dora  Salem. 
I  could  read  her  thoughts  in  her  frank  eyes  as 
plainly  as  I  could  see  the  blood  as  it  came  and 
deepened  the  color  in  her  cheeks,  and  then  left 
them  cold  and  white  ;  but  she  did  not  speak.  I 
began  to  grow  alarmed  when  she  said,  suddenly, 
with  a  faint  smile,  — 

"  Take  it,  it  is  a  fitting  hand  for  you  ! " 

I  took  the  hand  she  held  out  impulsively  towards 
me,  and  drawing  it  within  my  arm  without  a  word, 
we  walked  into  the  garden.  She  was  the  first  to 
speak.  With  a  little  catch  of  her  breath  she 
said,  — 

"  For  a  moment  I  thought  we  were  in  earnest, 
Mr.  Hardy." 

"  I  am  in  earnest,  I  assure  you." 

"  Why  do  you  ask  the  hand  of  such  as  I,  John 
Hardy?  You  are  rich." 

She  had  seated  herself  in  the  very  place  where  I 
had  sat  and  dreamed  of  Jeannette  Carlton,  and 
later  sat  with  Consolation  Temple  and  chosen  my 
four  guides.  She  raised  her  face,  and  looked  me 
in  the  eyes  as  I  stood  before  her. 
9 


130  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  You  are  mistaken,  Miss  Norton ;  I  am  a  poor 
man.  I  did  not  intend  to  deceive  you  ;  it  is  a  fact 
I  was  egotistic  enough  to  imagine  that  everybody 
knew." 

"  I  begin  to  understand,"  she  said,  a  crimson 
tide  flooding  her  fair  face  and  neck.  "  Let  us  not 
give  each  other  credit  for  a  sensibility  far  too  fine 
for  souls  like  ours.  You  are  Theodore  Hardy's 
son,  —  that  would  satisfy  my  mother,"  she  spoke 
gently;  "but  you,  John  Hardy,  —  you —  But  let 
us  meet  like  two  traders,  as  we  are." 

The  color  had  died  out  of  her  face,  leaving  it 
whiter  than  before. 

"I  did  not  know  that  you  were  a  poor  man," 
she  continued,  with  a  slight  effort.  "  I  supposed  at 
first  that  this  was  only  a  joke  to  punish  me  for  last 
evening.  But  we  are  both  in  earnest,  and  ask 
only  for  fair  dealing." 

As  she  had  said,  we  were  simply  two  traders, 
and  not  unlike  many  matrimonial  traders  I  had 
known,  with  the  exception  that  we  were  honest ; 
and  I  said,  "  We  at  least  can  respect  each  other 
for  honesty." 

"  Honesty ! "  she  exclaimed  ;  "  it  is  the  last  qual- 
ity any  one  should  respect  me  for  !  There  is  noth- 
ing to  respect  in  me  except  that  I  am  so  made  that 
I  cannot  be  ungrateful.  But  a  man  who  has  the 
world  before  him,  to  bind  himself  to  a  woman  he 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  131 

does  not  love,  for  —  money!  But  if  God  lets  him 
live,  I  cannot  dispute  his  right  to  existence  !  " 

"  No,  that  is  the  way  I  look  at  it,"  I  said, 
calmly ;  "  and  I  hoped  you  would  regard  me  as 
you  pretended  you  would  at  first,  —  simply  as  an 
honest  trader." 

"  And  a  very  courteous  one,"  she  said,  smiling  a 
little. 

"  Then  you  do  not  withdraw  from  the  —  the 
contract?  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  she  replied  quietly,  "  only  do  not 
publish  it  quite  yet.  We  can  be  friends  just  the 
same,  can  we  not  ?  " 

"  I  hope  so,"  I  said  earnestly  and  honestly. 

It  seemed  to  be  tacitly  understood  that  there 
was  no  haste  in  announcing  an  event  which  would 
bring  no  pleasure  to  anybody  unless  it  might  be 
Mrs.  Norton.  When  I  thought  of  Nanny,  I 
almost  trembled  in  my  shoes.  Yet  would  she  not 
have  been  willing  that  I  should,  in  the  same  man- 
ner, demean  myself  and  a  woman  for  whom  we 
both  had  the  greatest  respect  ? 

When  I  saw  Thurston,  I  appeared  so  much  de- 
pressed that  I  felt  obliged  to  account  for  it  in  some 
way,  and  told  him  I  feared  only  my  north-point 
guide  was  active,  and  I  wished  I  could  see  Conso- 
lation that  I  might  learn  if  the  others  had  accepted 
my  offer. 


132  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  You  were  a  fool  to  take  Calvin  at  all,"  said  he. 
"The  north  wind  doth  blow  and  we  shall  have 
snow,  and  what  will  poor  Hardy  do  then  ?  " 

"  He  will  hie  him  to  Sterne,  where  all  of  us 
learn  God  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lambkin, 
—  if  the  gay  Laurence  has  not  refused  me." 

"  He  can't  refuse  you ;  Consolation  will  manage 
that.  She  is  up  on  the  hill  now  behind  the  farm- 
house, waiting  to  see  Aunt  Susannah  depart.  Go 
up  there ;  it  is  warm  and  pleasant,  and  perhaps 
she  will  give  you  a  private  sitting  under  the  blue 
arch  by  the  purling  brook.  I  am  going  to  drive 
Aunt  Susannah  to  the  station,  and  I  will  go  up  there 
when  I  come  back ;  and  I  will  make  her  pony  up 
on  her  guides,  if  she  has  n't  done  it." 

I  went  to  the  hill,  but  saw  nothing  of  Consola- 
tion :  and  finding  the  air  most  agreeable,  I  walked 
on,  soon  forgetting  what  I  came  for  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  beauty  around  me. 

After  walking  a  mile,  I  came  suddenly  upon  a 
pretty  knoll  covered  with  young  pine  trees.  Hear- 
ing voices  below,  I  looked  down  and  saw  a  woman 
sitting  upon  a  bright-colored  shawl,  and  a  man 
standing  near  her. 

By  looking  through  the  trees,  I  could  see  them 
distinctly,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  recognizing 
them.  They  were  Consolation  Temple  and  Ebe- 
nezer  Samson.  I  do  not  know  how  I  found  myself 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  133 

able  to  listen  to  their  words  without  feeling  like  an 
eaves-dropper ;  but  as  I  intend  to  hide  nothing  in 
these  pages,  I  must  say  that  I  placed  myself  in  the 
most  comfortable  position  possible  to  listen. 

"  You  don't  think  so,"  Samson  was  saying  in  a 
round,  sonorous  voice. 

"  No,"  said  Consolation,  and  her  tone  was  more 
natural  than  I  had  ever  heard  it,  "  I  do  not  think 
so." 

"  You  are  trying  to  play  your  hand  alone,  Con- 
solation," he  said,  bending  his  shaggy  head  until 
his  eyes  came  on  a  line  with  hers :  "  we  are  part- 
ners still." 

"  What  do  you  want?  "  she  demanded  coldly. 

"Just  what  you  want,  — money." 

"  I  cannot  get  it." 

"  You  must" 

"  Not  from  him." 

"Yes,  from  him." 

"  You  used  to  give  me  credit  for  knowing  what 
I  could  do." 

"  You  are  wasting  your  powers,  or  you  are  work- 
ing for  yourself  alone." 

"  That  hardly  accords  with  your  past  boasts, 
Samson." 

"  I  understand ;  but  do  you  suppose  I  believe 
your  will  is  always  mine  from  choice  ?  Not  at  all ; 
nor  do  I  care,  so  long  as  it  is  mine.  You  can  get 


134  ^  Fearless  Investigator. 

ten  thousand  dollars  for  us  in  a  week,  if  you  are 
half  as  clever  as  you  once  were." 

"  In  the  first  place,  you  have  certainly  made  a 
mistake,"  she  said  measuredly  ;  "  you  have  counted 
on  dealing  with  a  man  who  has  but  one  passion." 

"  Oh,  I  have  made  a  mistake,  have  I  ?  "  he  said 
jocosely.  "  Perhaps  my  pupil  will  teach  me  to 
read." 

"  Pupils  have  been  known  to  surpass  their  mas- 
ters," she  said  in  a  hard  tone. 

"  That  is  where  the  pupil  in  youth  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  master's  experience,  and  was  not  a 
woman." 

"  A  pupil  who  was  not  a  woman  would  be  of 
great  advantage  to  you  now." 

"  That 's  like  a  woman's  arguing.  So  you  think 
I  have  made  a  mistake,  and  am  reckoning  on  little 
Salem's  one  passion  ?  I  am  making  no  mistake, 
and  I  am  reckoning  on  dealing  with  a  man  with 
one  passion." 

"  And  that  is  —  "  she  leaned  towards  him,  as  if 
to  meet  his  answer  half  way. 

"  Pride,"  he  said;  "p-r-i-d-e,  pride? 

She  leaned  back  again  with  a  sigh :  "  Ah,  we  do 
still  think  alike." 

"  Yes,  with  this  difference  :  time  will  never  teach 
you  that  my  mind  is  always  right,  while  I  never 
lose  confidence  in  yours.  This  is  because  your 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  135 

mind  belongs  to  me.  If  I  believed  that  our  minds 
would  always  exist,  I  should  believe  that  yours 
would  always  be  governed  by  mine." 

" Influenced"  she  suggested,  "  would  be  a  better 
word." 

"  Choose  your  own  expression,  the  fact  remains 
the  same.  For  a  short  time  you  may  try  to  act 
independently  of  me  ;  it  will  cause  me  inconven- 
ience, do  you  no  good,  and  the  end  will  be  as  it 
has  always  been  before." 

"  I  am  hiding  nothing  from  you  ;  you  have  made 
a  mistake,  that  is  all." 

"  Let  it  go  at  that,"  he  said  good-naturedly.  "  I 
ask  you  to  bear  in  mind  the  one  fact  that  we  are 
out  of  money.  Temple  needs  new  clothes.  He 
ought  to  give  up  lecturing  and  take  students." 
"In  what,  should  you  advise?  " 
"  God  knows  what,  —  anything.  I  have  been 
telling  him  for  two  years  to  start  classes  in  some- 
thing. Comparative  protoplasm,  although  I  don't 
know  what  in  the  deuce  that  means ;  but  if  people 
called  me  Old  Protoplasm,  I  'd  make  some  money 
out  of  it." 

"  Emmanuel  is  a  materialist ;  what  can  he  do 
here  ?  " 

"  So  much  the  better.  This  metaphysical  wave 
which  is  sweeping  over  us  now  must  meet  many 
that  it  cannot  carry.  Just  let  Temple  go  along,  in 


136  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

his  pokey  way,  and  form  them  into  classes.  Let 
them  come  with  their  little  note  books,  and  study 
atoms,  molecules,  protoplasm,  apes,  and  them- 
selves, in  twelve  or  twenty  lessons,  —  just  as  the 
metaphysical  students  fill  notebooks,  boring  into 
the  mighty  attributes  of  the  tangibility  of  the 
intangible." 

"  He  knows  Tyndall  and  Huxley  as  well  as  I 
know  Byron  and  Shakespeare,"  said  Consolation ; 
"  but  he  has  so  little  assurance." 

"Holy  Hannah  and  kneeling  Samuel!  What 
man  could 'have  assurance  in  a  coat  that  outshone 
a  rosewood  casket,  and  a  vest  that  had  dropped 
half  its  buttons  in  the  contribution-box,  and 
breeches  that  —  Consolation,  where  didhe  get  those 
breeches  ?  " 

"  He  was  hired  to  lecture  in  a  lyceum  course 
down  in  Maine  somewhere,"  Consolation  replied 
coldly,  "  and  the  people  in  the  town  got  the  idea 
that  he  was  a  celebrated  ventriloquist,  and  when 
he  began  his  lecture  they  made  a  great  deal  of 
noise,  and  he  was  forced  to  stop,  and  the  people 
demanded  their  money  back,  and  the  committee 
refused  to  pay  him ;  but  one  of  them  let  him  have 
those  pantaloons  and  a  cardigan  jacket,  and  paid 
his  expenses.  Little  enough,  I  think,  for  he  was  a 
long  time  preparing  the  lecture ;  but  he  says  the 
man  was  very  honorable,  and  when  he  gets  his 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  137 

book  published  he  shall  pay  for  the  jacket,  but  the 
lecture  was  worth  the  pantaloons." 

Mr.  Samson  put  back  his  head  and  laughed  loud 
enough  to  be  heard  a  mile  away.  After  what 
sounded  like  a  few  sobs  he  gasped,  — 

"He  must  take  them  off." 

"  And  go  without  any  !  "  Consolation  demanded 
sharply. 

"  You  have  too  much  imagination  and  too  little 
mind,  my  dear  Mrs.  Temple.  Tell  him  to  ask 
Thurston  Moore  to  take  him  to  his  tailor.  Of 
course  Moore  could  not  refuse,  and  Temple  will 
pay  —  when  he  can.  I  have  been  thinking  a  good 
deal  about  him  lately;  he  might  just  as  well  be 
making  some  money,  if  we  could  only  make  him 
the  fashion.  I  told  you  six  months  ago  he  must 
cut  his  hair :  long-haired  men  have  gone  by.  I 
think  if  he  wore  gold-bowed  spectacles  they  would 
look  well  on  him.  Anyway,  you  must  cut  his 
hair.  I  knew  a  man  once  who  was  taken  for  a 
genius  by  half  the  people  who  met  him  ;  and  when 
I  came  to  look  into  the  matter,  I  found  it  was  sim- 
ply because  his  hair  stood  up." 

"  Emmanuel  can  wear  gold  glasses,  but  he  can- 
not make  his  hair  stand  up." 

"  Yes,  he  can.  This  man  took  a  room  in  a  hotel 
one  night  out  West  with  me,  and  I  discovered  the 
secret :  he  wore  a  round  comb  to  bed  every  night." 


138  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  I  wonder  if  Emmanuel  would." 

"  Of  course  he  would  if  we  told  him  he  must. 
A  man  who  gives  such  attention  to  details  in  the 
scientific  world  must  learn  that  he  cannot  scorn 
details  in  the  social  world.  But  if  you  do  your 
duty  by  us,  we  shall  not  need  gold-bowed  specta- 
cles, round  combs,  nor  classes  for  our  daily  bread. 
You  know  my  ideas:  it  would  not  be  unjust  for  us 
to  waylay  young  Salem  and  take  half  his  money 
from  him,  but  it  would  be  unwise.  Better  that  he 
should  give  it  to  us." 

"  But  you  do  have  faith  in  the  classes  ?  " 

"  I  am  going  to  start  some  myself  on  much  less 
capital  than  Temple  has." 

"  You  underrate  your  strength." 

"When  Samson  underrates  his  strength,  let  the 
Philistines  beware  all  the  same  !  I  have  already  a 
few  pupils  in  psychology  and  pneumatology.  If  I 
had  half  your  imagination,  I  would  agree  to  sell 
corner  lots  in  Jupiter  and  Saturn  without  so  much 
as  a  plan  or  a  photograph." 

"  Speaking  of  photographs,"  she  said,  "  I  have 
been  promised  a  drawing  of  one  of  the  domestic 
animals  in  the  planet  Venus,  —  yes,  I  think  it  was 
Venus, — and  I  thought  we  might  have  it  photo- 
graphed, and  sell  copies  to  Spiritualists." 

"  You  are  sure  your  medium  is  trustworthy?  It 
might  go  hard  with  her  if  she  should  ever  sojourn 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  139 

that  way,  if  she  had  given  us  a  drawing  of  one  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  it  was  exhibited  here  as  a 
domestic  animal.  But  we  can't  have  too  many 
irons  in  the  fire.  By  the  way,  have  you  any  money 
now  ?  " 

"N'  —  no." 

"  Two  n's  in  one  no  is  the  same  as  a  double  neg- 
ative, which  equals  an  affirmative.  Your  answer 
\s_yes.  How  much?  " 

"  I  have  five  dollars ;  but  the  children  need 
shoes." 

"  I  am  quite  out ;  give  it  to  me.  I  will  see  to 
the  shoes,  —  not  to-day,  nor  to-morrow,  for  Maria 
Williams  has  her  eye  on  their  old  boots ;  you  see 
if  you  don't  get  a  pair  to-day.  Did  I  ever  refuse 
you  money  when  I  had  any?" 

"  No,"  she  said  shortly. 

"  Well,  let 's  have  it." 

"  I  will  let  you  have  half ;  I  told  Emmanuel  I 
had  it." 

"  I  '11  ask  him  about  it.  Hi,  there,  Temple  !  " 
and  I  discovered  that  near  by,  under  a  tree,  Old 
Protoplasm  was  asleep. 

"No,"  she  said  quickly,  "don't  waken  him, — 
he  would  give  you  all.  Give  me  two  dollars,  and  I 
will  give  you  the  five." 

"  Do  you  suppose  I  have  made  two  dollars  since 
I  told  you  I  had  none  ?  You  are  well  housed  here, 


140  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

and  have  enough  to  eat  while  you  see  which  way 
to  turn.  I  have  nothing." 

She  gave  him  the  five  dollars. 

"  Where  did  you  get  it  ?  "  he  asked,  as  he  thrust 
it  into  his  vest  pocket. 

"  From  Mr.  Hardy." 

"  Let  him  alone;  he  is  as  poor  as  we  are.  Why 
did  you  give  me  to  understand  that  this  was  in  one 
bill,  —  just  to  see  if  1  had  lied  to  you  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  I  did ;  but  I  have  little  enough  now.  So 
you  thought  John  Hardy  was  rich  ?  Did  you 
make  him  a  member  of  the  K.  and  L.  S.  F.  ?  " 

"  That  is  where  I  got  that  money." 

"  Moses  !     You  did  n't  play  that  on  him  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  mean  did  he  join.  You  scoff  at 
the  idea  because  you  cannot  comprehend  it." 

"  What  do  you  suppose  he  thought  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know." 

"Come,  can't  you  have  some  idea?  Did  he 
take  it  as  a  joke  ?  Did  he  laugh  ? " 

"  No." 

"  Then  he  is  a  fool.  Always  avoid  a  poor  fool, 
Consolation." 

Never  had  I  felt  the  loss  of  money  as  I  felt  it  at 
that  moment. 

"  I  like  him,"  she  said ;  "  and  sometimes  he 
reminds  me  of  you  when  he  is  talking." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  141 

He  put  back  his  head  and  laughed  again. 
"  Don't  waste  any  time  on  Mr.  Hardy.  I  must  go 
now.  Get  back  to  the  mansion  to-night  if  pos- 
sible ;  you  look  out  of  place  at  the  farmhouse. 
And  remember  that  Emma  Liz  is  no  idiot.  Salem 
is  coming  to  see  you  to-day.  I  told  him  it  was  all 
right  to  call  at  the  farmhouse.  Good-bye  ;  I  shall 
go  back  to  the  city  to-night.  Say  good-bye  to 
Temple." 

I  expected  that  he  would  walk  in  my  direction, 
but  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  better  be  found 
there  than  running  away,  so  remained  quiet ;  but 
he  went  quite  in  the  opposite  direction.  After  a 
few  minutes  I  called  to  Mrs.  Temple  to  know  if  I 
could  approach. 

She  came  to  the  top  of  the  knoll  and  said,  "  Are 
you  alone  ?  " 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "alone  —  and  lost.  Just  as 
you  appear  to  be." 

"  Emmanuel  is  over  there,"  she  said  ;  "  but  how 
does  it  happen  that  you  are  alone  ?  Is  it  quite 
safe  for  you  to  walk  so  far  ?  We  are  a  mile  from 
The  Poplars." 

After  each  sentence  she  let  her  eyes  fall  upon 
me,  and  the  usual  shiver  went  down  my  spine.  I 
did  not  like  it,  and  wondered  how  Dwight  Salem 
could. 

"  I  came  out  to  find  you,"  I  said.     "  Thurston 


142  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

thought  you  were  on  the  hill  back  of  the  farmhouse. 
I  went  there  first,  then  roamed  about,  and  my  good 
star  sent  me  here.  I  am  anxious  to  know  if  you 
have  heard  from  my  points  of  compass." 

She  led  the  way  back  to  the  bright  shawl,  and 
asked  me  to  take  a  part  of  it,  as  the  ground  might 
be  damp.  I  thought  it  safer  to  sit  at  a  little  dis- 
tance, where  the  trees  had  not  shaded  the  ground 
from  the  sun.  She  brought  the  shawl  to  me,  and 
insisted  that  I  should  sit  upon  it.  I  was  obliged 
then  to  insist  upon  her  sharing  it. 

In  the  sunlight,  Consolation  Temple  did  not  ap- 
pear to  advantage.  The  pallor  that  made  her  look 
delicate  and  spiritual  by  gaslight  assumed  a  yel- 
low, unhealthful  tint  in  the  bright  light  of  the 
morning.  I  wondered  if  D wight  Salem  had  ever 
seen  her  by  daylight. 

"  You  have  been  anxious  to  hear  from  your 
guides,"  she  said.  "  You  were  anxious  to  see  me, 
but  I  have  been  more  anxious  to  see  you,  for  I  had 
it  on  my  mind  that  I  had  promised  to  learn  as 
soon  as  possible  what  they  thought  of  your 
generosity." 

"  Do  not  mention  my  generosity,  but  their  con- 
descension, my  dear  madam." 

"  I  repeat  it,"  she  said  softly,  —  "  your  gener- 
osity. But  I  regret  that  I  did  not  let  you  make 
your  selection  quite  uninfluenced  by  me." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  143 

"  And  why  ?  "  I  exclaimed.  "  I  find  no  fault  if 
they  do  not." 

"  Are  you  a  Spiritualist,  Mr.  Hardy  ?  " 

"  Not  exactly." 

"  Did  you  ever  see  a  perfectly  materialized 
spirit  ?  " 

"  No,  Mrs.  Temple,  never." 

"  Should  you  be  afraid  if  you  awoke  and  found 
one  by  your  bedside  ?  " 

"  Madam,  if  such  should  be  my  fate,  I  think  my 
immortal  soul  would  receive  such  a  chill  that  a  seat 
at  Pluto's  private  fireside  would  never  thaw  me  out 
sufficiently  to  remember  what  sent  me  there." 

"  You  are  mistaken,"  she  said  gently.  "  I  have 
no  such  fear,  why  should  you  have  ?  Let  me  tell 
you  what  happened.  I  have  told  it  to  no  one. 
Last  night  the  farmhouse  was  very  full ;  Emmanuel 
and  the  babes  were  obliged  to  sleep  upon  sofas  in 
the  sitting-room.  I  was  obliged  to  room  with  Mrs. 
Litchfield,  a  friend  of  Mrs.  Holt  —  a  very,  very 
ordinary  woman,  but  a  wonderful  medium ;  very 
common  in  expression,  but  a  marvellous  mate- 
rializer.  When  we  went  up  stairs,  she  said  to  me 
that  sometimes  after  she  went  to  sleep,  spirits 
came  and  materialized,  and  went  off  and  returned 
when  they  pleased ;  that  there  was  a  woman  with 
a  man's  name  who  had  been  bothering  her  all  day 
to  come  and  see  me.  She  asked  me  if  I  should  be 


144  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

frightened  if  she  came.  I  said  I  thought  that  was 
a  strange  question  to  ask  a  woman  who  had  been 
in  communication  with  the  spirit  world  from  her 
childhood. 

"  '  Oh,  yes,  rapping  and  writing,'  she  said  ;  '  but 
it  is  quite  another  thing  to  see  them  stand  up  in 
their  very  bones,  and  look  as  much  alive  as  you  do. 
The  first  one  I  saw  I  almost  fainted  away  from 
sheer  scare ; '  yes,  that  was  her  expression,  Mr. 
Hardy,  '  sheer  scare.'  Said  I,  '  You  are  unworthy 
of  the  great  honor  that  Heaven  has  bestowed  upon 
you.'  '  I  don't  mind  it  now,' she  said;  'I  could 
sleep  if  the  room  was  full  of  them.  I  only  wanted 
to  warn  you  that  you  might  have  a  visitor.'  " 

"  Did  you  honestly  see  anything,  Mrs.  Temple  ?  " 
I  exclaimed. 

"  Listen.  She  went  to  sleep,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes I  heard  a  whisper,  —  at  first  very  low,  then 
louder,  until  the  voice  was  perfectly  distinct.  It 
spoke  English,  with  a  strong  French  accent." 

"  Mrs.  Temple,  don't  miss  a  detail  •,  I  believe  it 
all,"  I  murmured.  She  smiled  and  continued  :  — 

"  I  had  left  the  lamp  burning,  and  I  saw  every- 
thing in  the  room  as  distinctly  as  I  see  you  now. 
At  first  I  saw  no  one,  but  heard  a  voice  say, 
'  Consolation,  Consolation,  Consolation,'  three 
times.  It  came  from  a  large  chair  which  stood  at 
the  head  of  the  bed.  I  turned  my  eyes  towards  it 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  145 

and  said,  '  You  are  welcome,  whoever  you  are ; ' 
and  immediately  I  saw  the  outline  of  a  woman  in 
the  chair,  and  slowly  it  filled  out  until  it  became  a 
perfect  face  and  form ;  the  face  and  form  of  — 
George  Sand ! " 

"  Had  she  come  to  accept,  or  refuse  ?  "  I  in- 
quired anxiously. 

"  She  asked  to  be  your  guide  alone.  '  Give  him 
to  me,'  she  said  and  the  whole  room  vibrated  as 
she  spoke.  '  I  will  be  his  guide  alone,  or  not  at 
all.  Can  I  not  be  East,  West,  North,  or  South,  as 
I  will  ?  '  " 

"Are  you  giving  me  her  exact  words,  Mrs. 
Temple  ? "  I  felt  a  little  confused ;  I  cannot  tell 
why  I  should,  unless  it  was  because,  as  she  spoke, 
her  eyes  seemed  to  rest  like  weights  upon  me. 

"  I  have  the  paper  in  here,  Mr.  Hardy  ;  she  was 
so  anxious  that  you  should  hear  directly  that  she 
bade  me  write  her  words  and  give  them  to  you. 
Yes,  here  it  is:  I  intended  to  stop  on  my  way  back, 
and  read  it  to  you." 

She  took  a  paper  from  her  belt,  and  spreading  it 
upon  her  lap,  began  to  read  :  — 

"  To  the  soul  there  is  no  such  thing  as  years,  John 
Hardy.  It  is  George  Sand  who  writes  this  to  you. 
Show  me  the  four  points  of  any  mental  compass  which 
I  cannot  cover !  You  ask  for  Calvin ;  he  has  more 
than  he  is  able  to  cope  with  at  present,  to  look  after 
10 


146  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

the  radical  wing  of  Harpists  who  have  signed  a  petition 
that  favors  Servetus  being  allowed  to  enter  the  back 
gate  of  Paradise.  Calvin  does  not  know  himself  that 
the  back  gate  has  no  bolt,  and  Servetus  has  been  in 
many  times  and  walked  out  from  choice,  after  looking 
about  a  little.  Sterne  was  so  delighted  when  he  found 
that  a  spirit  could  travel  without  price  that  nothing  has 
been  heard  from  him  for  a  long  time.  As  for  Gray,  he 
regrets  so  much  that  he  allowed  his  Elegy  to  be  pub- 
lished so  prematurely  that  he  spends  all  his  time  upon 
it,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  until  it  is  perfected,  and 
then  he  will  require  an  honest  and  patient  medium  to 
give  it  to  the  world,  as  you  call  this  little  planet." 

"  Then  I  have  no  guides!''  I  cried. 

"I  can  find  you  more  if  you  are  not  satisfied 
with  such  a  one  as  is  left  you." 

"  Can  I  see  her  materialized  ?  " 

"  Be  satisfied,  and  let  me  speak  for  her." 

"  But  can't  Mrs.  Litchfield  make  her  up  for  me  ? 
It  was  hard  only  to  imagine  her  before  I  knew  she 
could  be  made  visible." 

"  She  will  not  permit  it,"  said  Consolation,  shak- 
ing her  fine  head,  slowly.  "  She  asks  me  to  be  her 
medium.  I  shall  serve  her  faithfully,  —  and  do 
you  dislike  her  chosen  interpreter  so  much  ?  " 

"  Oh,  not  at  all,"  I  said,  rather  ungallantly ;  for 
I  suddenly  heard  a  yawn,  and  remembered 
Emmanuel  Temple  was  enjoying  his  siesta  near 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  147 

by,  —  a  fact  I  had  forgotten  for  the  moment,  in  my 
excitement  about  my  guides.  I  looked  behind  me 
in  the  direction  from  which  the  yawn  came,  and 
there  he  lay  upon  his  back  within  a  few  yards  of 
me,  his  half-open  eyes  partly  hid  by  the  rim  of  his 
old  felt  hat. 

"  When  I  went  to  sleep,"  he  drawled,  "  I  left 
my  wife  talking  to  one  man ;  and  when  I  wake  up, 
I  find  her  talking  to  another." 

Whether  this  was  intended  as  a  soliloquy  or  as 
an  observation  to  me,  I  could  not  determine,  but 
paid  no  attention  to  it,  only  recognizing  the  fact 
that  he  was  awake  by  wishing  him  good-morning. 

"  Good-morning,"  he  said,  and  yawned  again ; 
then  asked,  "  Where  's  Samson  ?  " 

"  He  has  been  gone  some  time,"  said  his  wife  ; 
"  he  has  been  talking  classes  again." 

"  Classes  ?  What  classes  ?  "  he  inquired,  crawl- 
ing out  and  sitting  near  us. 

"  Why,  don't  you  remember,"  she  said  sweetly, 
"  that  some  time  ago  he  wanted  you  to  start  a  class 
in  something?  " 

"  Yes,  I  remember.  He  wanted  me,  he  said,  to 
have  a  class  to  study  matter,  and  he  would  have 
one  to  study  mind ;  and  the  people  who  did  n't 
agree  with  him,  he  would  send  to  me ;  and  those 
who  did  n't  agree  with  me,  I  could  send  to  him.  It 
sounded  first  rate ;  but  when  I  asked  him  what  I 


148  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

was  going  to  teach,  he  could  n't  tell  me.  A  man 
has  to  know  something  before  he  can  teach." 

"  That  is  a  mere  prejudice,"  said  I. 

"  No,"  he  said  quite  seriously,  "  I  don't  hold  a 
prejudice." 

"  My  love,  are  you  quite  sure  of  that  ?  "  said  his 
wife. 

"  Now,  let  me  tell  you  what  she  means,  Mr. 
Hardy :  she  holds  that  it  is  prejudice  because  I 
don't  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  I 
don't  believe  it." 

"  Are  you  not  a  member  of  the  society  which 
your  wife  has  founded  ?  " 

"  No;  if  she  would  call  it  the  Society  of  Forced 
Imaginations,  I  would  join.  Even  then  I  could 
not  indorse  the  idea  of  the  honorary  members. 
Not  that  I  want  to  give  you  the  impression  that 
Consolation  does  not  believe  it  all,  and  twice  as 
much  unmeaning  matter.  She  has  thought  about 
it  so  long  that  the  notion  to  her  has  become  a  fact. 
My  mind  is  like  a  cube :  when  any  new.  force 
attempts  to  move  it,  it  drops  suddenly,  after  much 
labor,  on  one  of  its  six  sides,  and  there  it  remains 
until  another  great  effort  moves  it  over  on  another 
side.  But  my  wife's  mind  is  like  a  sphere :  once 
set  it  in  motion,  and  it  rolls  on  and  on,  without 
asking  for  a  stopping-place.  It  is  only  a  question 
of  vitality  when  it  will  stop." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  149 

"  Just  now  a  material  view  of  anything  is  very 
depressing  to  me,"  I  said. 

"  Then  I  should  say  you  had  better  talk  to  my 
wife  instead  of  to  me,"  and  he  arose  and  stretched 
his  long  arms  above  his  head  ;  "  only,  remember  it 
is  a  good  thing  to  have  a  solid  rock  under  you,  — 
then  you  can  sit  in  the  fog  as  long  as  you  like;  but 
don't  try  to  walk  on  it." 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  his  wife  asked,  for  he 
was  walking  away. 

"  I  am  going  to  take  the  babies  out  for  a  little 
oxygen,  if  they  are  dressed." 

"  Then  let  us  walk  back  together,"  I  suggested ; 
and  Consolation  rose,  and  I  folded  the  shawl. 

"It  is  too  beautiful  to  be  in-doors,"  she  mur- 
mured as  we  walked  away. 

"  I  guess  that 's  what  the  babies  are  thinking  by 
this  time,"  said  Emmanuel. 


150  A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

ON  our  way  to  The  Poplars  we  met  Thurston, 
who  declared  he  had  been  looking  for  me 
for  a  full  hour.  He  had  driven  his  aunt  to  the 
station,  and  there  had  found  a  man  he  was  very 
anxious  I  should  meet.  He  had  met  him  the  day 
before  in  town,  and  had  begged  him  to  try  to  visit 
The  Poplars  during  my  stay,  and  the  gentleman 
had  been  kind  enough  to  come  immediately. 

We  left  Emmanuel  Temple  and  his  wife  at  the 
farmhouse,  where  we  saw  the  infant  protoplasts 
on  the  steps.  They  did  not  appear  to  share  their 
father's  prejudice  in  regard  to  being  dressed  before 
taking  their  oxygen.  I  wished  Dwight  Salem 
could  have  seen  them,  —  and  perhaps  he  did,  for 
Thurston  said  he  saw  him  coming  toward  the 
house  a  few  moments  later.  I  wanted  to  see  Salem 
alone,  if  only  for  five  minutes;  but  Thurston,  I 
knew,  was  in  a  hurry  to  get  back.  He  was  in 
excellent  spirits,  although  Mrs.  Moore  looked  a 
little  vexed  with  him  as  we  entered  the  room  where 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  151 

she  sat  with  a  tall,  young,  but  very  bald-headed 
man,  and  a  round-faced  little  woman.  I  soon 
learned  that  they  were  Professor  Blossom  and  his 
wife. 

The  Professor  was  very  fair,  and  the  few  straw- 
colored  hairs  which  grew  quite  low  down  at  the 
back  of  his  head  were  so  unobtrusive  that  they 
were  seldom  noticed  at  all.  His  eyes  were  deep- 
set,  and  his  smooth  face  so  thin  that  when  he 
smiled  and  exposed  two  rows  of  large,  perfect 
teeth,  I  felt  as  if  I  were  entering  into  conversation 
with  an  animated  skull.  His  wife  was  short  and 
more  than  plump,  In  fact,  one  might  imagine,  to 
look  at  these  two  Blossoms,  that  from  the  matri- 
monial platter,  if  not  exactly  like  Jack  Sprat  and 
his  wife,  the  Professor  ate  only  that  which  went 
to  form  bone,  while  his  wife  ate  for  flesh.  She 
had  merry  eyes,  and  the  corners  of  her  full,  red 
lips  turned  up  in  a  manner  which  was  almost 
contagious. 

"  Professor  Blossom  is  a  practical  Phrenologist," 
said  Thurston.  "  I  know  that  you  don't  know 
what  that  means,  but  the  Professor  is  always  ready 
to  enlighten  the  ignorant." 

This  was  addressed  to  me,  and  I  was  obliged 
to  admit  that  my  ignorance  was  so  great  on  this 
subject  that  the  Professor  would  be  obliged  to  de- 
scend to  the  most  marked  simplicity  in  his  expla- 


152  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

nation.  Mrs.  Moore  said  she  would  speak  to  Miss 
Norton,  for  she  would  like  to  have  her  there  also, 
as  she  had  expressed  an  interest  in  the  subject. 
Miss  Norton  soon  came  in,  and  we  all  sat  down 
together  before  the  Professor.  Her  color  had 
returned,  her  manner  was  unchanged,  and  no  one 
would  have  supposed  that  since  breakfast  she  had 
disposed  of  a  very  important  part  of  her  kingdom. 

"  If  I  had  not  thought  you  might  have  been 
expecting  me  to-day,"  said  the  Professor,  "  I  should 
not  have  found  the  time  to  come  before  to-morrow ; 
but  knowing  that  Mr.  Hardy  had  been  very  sick, 
and  believing  that  practical  Phrenology  holds  the 
key  to  health  as  well  as  to  every  door  which  leads 
to  happiness,  wherever  mind  exists,  I  came  as 
soon  as  possible. 

"  Of  course,  I  will  not  attempt  to  give  you  an 
idea  of  what  Phrenology  is,  as  it  would  be  an 
insult  to  your  intelligence ;  but  always  after  a  great 
truth  has  been  forced  upon  the  world,  it  takes  a 
long  time,  sometimes  centuries,  before  it  becomes 
of  any  practical  value.  Never  was  a  grand  truth 
more  scoffed  at  than  Phrenology.  But  to-day,  were 
every  man  a  practical  Phrenologist,  there  would  be 
no  need  of  minister,  lawyer,  or  doctor,  for  every 
man  could  be  his  own.  Where  now  we  have  chaos 
and  discord,  we  should  then  have  order  and  har- 
mony. May,  hand  me  my  charts." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  153 

Mrs.  Blossom  rose  and  brought  her  husband  a 
bag  which  was  lying  near  by  upon  the  table.  He 
opened  it,  and  took  out  two  heads  of  white 
plaster. 

"  Although  you  may  all  have  an  idea  of  Phrenol- 
ogy," the  Professor  continued,  "  as  I  mention  each 
organ  I  will  place  my  finger  upon  it,  which  will 
help  you  to  understand  me.  I  have  had  these  heads 
made,  so  that  by  pressing  upon  the  inside  I  can 
increase  or  decrease  any  organ  at  will.  Allow  me 
for  the  sake  of  illustration  to  call  this  male  head 
Mr.  Hardy,  and  this  female  head  Miss  Newton." 

"  Norton,"  said  Thurston,  "  Miss  Norton." 

"  Pardon  me,  Miss  Norton.  On  Mr.  Hardy's 
head  I  will  enlarge  the  organ  of  self-esteem  to  an 
abnormal  degree,  while  I  will  decrease  the  same 
upon  Miss  Norton's  head  and  increase  the  organ 
of  approbativeness.  The  result  is  that  Mr.  Hardy 
is  overbearing,  and  so  opinionated  as  to  become 
positively  disagreeable  to  Miss  Norton ;  while  her 
love  of  approbation  is  so  large,  and  her  self- 
esteem  so  small,  that  she  cannot  help  desiring  to 
please  him,  yet  she  cannot  regard  him  with  true 
pleasure. 

"  I  have  taken  simply  these  two  faculties  for 
illustration.  I  will  not  complicate  matters  by 
making  you  bear  more  in  mind ;  although,  in 
treating  ourselves  or  others,  we  must  bear  in 


154  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

mind  and  thoroughly  understand  all  the  faculties 
of  the  brain,  also  the  temperament.  But  two  will 
do  for  an  example. 

"  It  may  be  that  after  an  unusually  overbearing 
and  opinionated  remark  from  Mr.  Hardy,  Miss 
Norton  becomes  unusually  depressed ;  she  desires 
more  and  more  to  gain  his  approbation,  but  feels 
that  she  fails  more  and  more  as  time  goes  on. 
She  is  sure  she  is  sick ;  consults  a  doctor,  who 
advises  iron  and  wine,  or  sarsaparilla.  She  takes 
many  bottles,  but  they  cannot  affect  the  organ  of 
approbativeness,  and  she  remains  the  same.  Then 
she  meets  a  friend,  who  advises  a  mind  doctor, 
and  she  pays  two  hundred  dollars  to  learn  to  cure 
herself ;  but  the  organ  of  approbativeness  remains 
the  same. 

"  Now  for  the  practical  Phrenologist.  She  visits 
him,  and  talks  to  him  as  if  he  were  her  doctor  and 
minister  combined.  In  a  few  minutes  he  teaches 
her  that  her  approbativeness  needs  decreasing, 
and  her  self-esteem  increasing.  A  little  friction 
stirs  the  blood ;  and  is  an  organ  of  the  brain  less 
sensitive  than  the  blood  ?  A  little  rubbing  of  the 
bump,  which  represents  this  faculty,  forces  it  to 
become  active.  When  she  meets  Mr.  Hardy,  she 
no  longer  feels  that  she  must  have  his  approval, 
but  is  surprised  when  she  sees  him  that  she  feels 
little  or  no  awe." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  155 

"  Since  I  have  met  Professor  Blossom,"  said 
Miss  Norton,  "  I  have  no  fear  of  continuing  our 
acquaintance,  Mr.  Hardy." 

"  Is  there  anything  that  can  be  done  for  boys 
who  are  disrespectful  to  their  mothers  ? "  asked 
Mrs.  Moore,  sadly. 

"  That  touches  the  organ  of  veneration,"  said 
the  Professor,  —  "  an  organ  pre-eminently  small  in 
American  heads  of  any  age.  There  should  be  a 
Professor  of  Practical  Phrenology  in  every  city  in 
the  Union,  to  visit  the  Public  Schools  and  treat  at 
least  twice  a  week  the  veneration  and  sublimity  of 
every  scholar  in  the  school." 

"  Every  boy,  you  mean,"  said  Miss  Norton. 

"  And  every  girl,  too,"  added  the  Professor. 

"  Now,  I  am  a  great  advocate  of  the  organ  of 
mirthfulness,"  said  Mrs.  Blossom.  "  When  I  was 
first  learning  to  treat  myself,  it  all  seemed  so  com- 
plicated ;  and  the  Professor  was  often  away,  and  I 
did  n't  know  what  to  do.  He  never  wanted  me  to 
make  much  of  my  self-esteem,  and  I  got  in  the 
habit  of  treating  my  bump  of  mirthfulnes.  Do 
you  see  how  it  sticks  out  ? 

"  One  day  when  the  Professor  was  away,  I  treated 
it  so  much  I  hardly  dared  go  downstairs  to  see  a 
patient  who  came  to  see  the  Professor,  —  and 
would  wait  for  him,  —  for  fear  I  should  say  some- 
thing absurd  about  the  whole  thing,  and  lose  a  val- 


156  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

uable  patient.  But  I  had  to  see  her,  and  she 
asked  me  if  as  long  as  I  had  been  with  the  Profes- 
sor I  had  not  learned  to  treat  patients,  and  the 
idea  came  to  me  that  it  would  be  fun  to  treat  this 
melancholy  looking  woman  myself ;  so  I  said  I 
thought  I  could  treat  any  one  very  well,  although 
I  had  never  taken  the  trouble  to  try.  Of  course 
she  wanted  me  to  treat  her ;  and  I  looked  into  my 
husband's  books,  and  found  that  during  the  last 
visit  she  had  had  her  bumps  of  firmness,  self-esteem, 
and  hope  treated ;  but  I  could  not  resist  the  desire 
to  put  a  little  friction  to  her  mirthfulness,  and  I 
rubbed  it  lively,  now  I  tell  you.  But  I  forgot  to 
take  any  pay  for  the  treatment,  and  she  never 
came  again. 

"  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  very  strict  old  man 
who  treated  her  like  a  child,  although  she  was 
forty  years  old.  He  wore  a  wig,  but  no  member  of 
his  family  had  ever  mentioned  it  even  to  each 
other.  She  said  that  going  home  everything  looked 
strange  to  her,  and  she  wanted  to  laugh  at  the 
most  respectable  people  she  met;  and  when  she 
entered  the  house,  her  father  was  dozing  before 
the  fire,  and  his  false  hair  had  got  a  little  out  of 
place.  She  sat  opposite  to  him  for  a  long  time, 
smiling,  but  after  a  while  she  burst  into  a  loud 
laugh.  He  opened  his  eyes  in  astonishment,  and 
told  her  to  go  to  her  room;  but  she  said,  'Dad, 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  157 

your  wig's  askew,'  and  then  burst  out  laughing 
again.  Without  waiting  for  any  explanation,  he 
sent  her  to  a  lunatic  asylum,  and  she  is  there  to 
this  day." 

"  Oh,  how  horrible  !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Norton. 
"  Could  n't  you  get  her  out  ?  " 

"  I  went  to  see  her  father,"  said  Mrs.  Blossom  ; 
"  but  he  would  not  see  me.  I  wrote  to  him,  but 
received  no  answer.  After  a  long  time,  I  got  to 
the  asylum  to  see  her,  and  she  seemed  very  happy ; 
she  said  she  liked  it  better  than  her  home,  and  if  I 
would  treat  her  again  as  I  did  before,  she  would 
ask  for  nothing  better.  Her  father  thinks  she  is 
crazy,  and  I  am  allowed  to  go  there  now  and  then, 
and  how  can  I  refuse  to  give  her  mirthfulness  a 
little  rub  ?  She  had  lived  for  forty  years,  and 
never  enjoyed  a  good  laugh !  Well,  she  is  the 
only  patient  I  ever  had." 

Mrs.  Blossom  laughed  until  the  tears  came  to 
her  eyes. 

"  I  allow  my  wife  to  mention  her  one  case,"  said 
the  Professor,  "  because  it  serves  as  a  good  illus- 
tration of  the  danger  of  over-treating  any  one 
faculty." 

"  Will  you  tell  us,  Professor,"  asked  Miss  Nor- 
ton, "if  you  had  been  with  this  lady  when  she 
laughed  at  her  father,  and,  as  I  understand  it,  could 
not  help  it,  what  you  could  have  done  for  her?  " 


158  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  Certainly.  I  should  have  immediately  treated 
the  organs  of  conscientiousness  and  veneration." 

"What  would  have  been  the  result?"  Mrs. 
Moore  inquired  politely. 

"  Instantly  that  daughter  would  have  been  on 
her  knees  before  her  father,  in  dewy  tears.  And 
here  I  will  show  you  all  the  startling  need  of  every 
man  and  woman  being  a  practical  Phrenologist. 
Supposing  at  that  moment,  when  it  was  impossible 
to  send  for  me,  this  lady  had  been  taught  to  rely 
upon  herself." 

"  Do  you  believe  anybody  capable  of  learning 
it  ?  "  I  inquired  anxiously. 

"  Oh,  no,  sir  !  There  are  many  people  incapable 
of  learning  anything ;  but  those  who  can  compre- 
hend what  Phrenology  is,  can  learn  to  make  some 
practical  use  of  it." 

"  How  long  do  you  think  it  would  take  us 
to  learn  ?  "  asked  Miss  Norton.  "  I  should  say 
we  were  unusually  intelligent,  should  n't  you, 
Thurston  ?  " 

"  Take  us  as  a  class,  I  should  say  the  average 
would  be  good,"  said  Thurston. 

Mrs.  Blossom  began  to  laugh.  "Oh,  it  is  so 
amusing,"  she  said,  "  when  you  first  begin.  I  re- 
member when  I  first  began  to  study  it,  I  wanted  to 
make  the  Professor  a  dressing-gown,  and  I  did  not 
know  how  to  cut  it.  I  bought  a  pattern,  and  began 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  159 

to  study  it ;  but  I  could  not  make  head  nor  tail  out 
of  it ;  so  I  says  to  the  Professor  one  day,  '  How  do 
you  suppose  that  some  women  can  cut  and  make 
dresses  and  all  kinds  of  things,  and  other  women 
can't  ? '  I  did  n't  say  any  more,  because  I  wanted 
the  dressing-gown  to  be  a  surprise.  '  Why,'  says 
he,  '  some  women  have  constructiveness  very  large, 
and  others  very  small.'  That  was  enough  for  me ; 
I  thought  I  would  go  away  alone,  and  give  my 
bump  of  constructiveness  a  good  treatment.  Do 
you  remember  it,  Professor  ?  " 

He  gave  her  a  smile  as  superior  as  a  skull  on 
the  shelf  of  a  museum  might  bestow  upon  a  child 
in  the  flesh  who  stood  on  tip-toe  and  looked  up 
at  it. 

"  Well,  dear,  if  friction  would  have  made  any- 
thing, that  dressing-gown  ought  to  have  been  a 
beauty.  But  all  of  a  sudden  I  did  n't  seem  to  care 
about  making  it,  and  I  put  the  cloth  and  the  pat- 
tern away.  I  was  afraid  I  should  spoil  it.  I 
began  to  wish  I  had  the  money  that  it  cost,  and 
every  cent  the  Professor  gave  me  I  put  in  a  little 
box,  and  hid  the  box.  When  the  patients  left  any 
money  with  me,  I  never  gave  it  to  the  Professor  at 
all,  or  told  him  I  had  it,  but  hid  it  in  the  box.  I 
grew  very  mean  and  stingy.  Still,  I  did  not  for- 
get that  I  wanted  to  make  the  dressing-gown,  and 
every  day  I  gave  my  constructiveness  bump  a  good 


160  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

rub.  One  day  my  sister  came  to  see  us,  and  she 
said  to  the  Professor,  '  If  you  can  really  change 
anybody's  propensities  by  rubbing  the  head,  you 
had  better  give  May  a  treatment,  for  she  is  growing 
too  mean  to  live.'  '  Come  here,'  said  the  Professor, 
and  he  felt  my  bumps,  and  jumped  up  in  surprise. 
'  Great  heavens  ! '  says  he,  '  I  am  living  with  a 
miser.  What  does  this  mean,  May  Blossom  ?  '  'I 
don't  know,'  I  said,  as  innocent  as  the  woolliest 
lamb  that  ever  bleated.  '  What  have  you  been 
doing  to  your  acquisitiveness  ? '  says  he.  '  I 
have  n't  touched  my  acquisitiveness,'  says  I ;  '  I 
have  tried  to  enlarge  my  constructiveness  so  I  could 
make  you  a  dressing-gown,  but  now  I  don't  care 
anything  about  it ;  I  wanted  it  for  a  surprise.' " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Professor,  with  another  museum 
smile,  "  and  all  the  time  she  had  been  treating  the 
wrong  faculty." 

"  I  don't  want  to  discourage  you,"  said  Mrs. 
Blossom,  wiping  again  the  merry  tears  from  her 
eyes,  "  but  just  let  the  Professor  show  you  how 
near  the  two  bumps,  constructiveness  and  acquisi- 
tiveness, are  to  each  other,  and  then  say  if  you  call 
that  such  a  dreadful  mistake  for  a  beginner?  But 
now  to  prove  how  sincere  the  Professor  is  in  his 
idea,  I  want  to  tell  you  that  he  never  forced  me  to 
tell  where  I  had  hidden  the  money,  although  he 
needed  it ;  but  he  just  worked  away  on  my  con- 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  161 

scientiousness,  and  benevolence  and  self-esteem, 
until  I  had  brought  it  to  him  of  my  own  free-will. 
But  I  gave  up  the  idea  of  treating  myself,  except 
my  mirthfulness,  which  has  grown  so  large  that  it 
has  quite  crowded  out  two  or  three  other 
bumps." 

"It  must  be  the  most  fascinating  thing  in  the 
world  ;  why  can't  we  take  a  lesson  to-day  ?  "  asked 
Miss  Norton. 

"  You  can  if  you  like,"  said  Thurston.  "  I  told 
the  Professor  to  come  prepared.  You  have  every- 
thing, haven't  you,  Professor?" 

"  I  am  always  prepared,"  replied  the  Professor, 
and  he  opened  the  bag  from  which  he  had  taken 
the  plaster  heads,  and  taking  out  a  box  handed  it 
to  his  wife.  Next  he  took  four  small  heads,  and 
handed  one  to  each  of  us.  Mrs.  Blossom  opened 
the  box  he  had  given  her,  and  took  from  it  a  small 
box  apiece  for  us  and  one  for  herself.  These 
boxes  contained  little  slips  of  paper,  with  the 
names  of  the  different  faculties  printed  upon  them. 
She  emptied  the  contents  of  the  box  she  had  re- 
tained upon  a  table  beside  the  Professor;  and 
after  wiping  off  the  top  of  his  head  with  her  hand- 
kerchief,—  for  what  purpose  I  could  not  tell,  for 
no  polished  skull  could  be  freer  from  dust,  —  she 
began  with  no  inexperienced  hand  to  cover  the 
whole  surface  of  his  cranium  with  the  little  slips  of 


1 62  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

paper,  first  slightly  moistening  each  with  the  point 
of  her  tongue. 

"  Now,  if  you  want  to  laugh,"  she  said,  as  she 
labelled  his  bump  of  comparison,  "  you  just  laugh. 
The  Professor  won't  care  ;  and  I  have  told  him 
that  as  many  times  as  I  have  done  this,  it  strikes 
me  just  as  comical  now  as  the  first  time  I  did  it. 
I  think  to  stop  a  laugh  is  dangerous." 

"  You  are  certainly  very  kind,"  murmured  Miss 
Norton,  who  was  apparently  suffering  from  convul- 
sions, while  Mrs.  Moore  made  an  excuse  to  go  and 
ask  Maria  Williams  to  join  the  class. 

When  they  returned,  the  head  of  the  Professor 
was  a  complete  phrenological  chart.  At  the  first 
sight  of  it,  poor  Maria  Williams'  sense  of  the  ludi- 
crous almost  overpowered  her  courtesy ;  but  she 
rallied  bravely  when  the  good-natured  Mrs. 
Blossom  assured  her  that  she  could  laugh  if  she 
pleased.  But  when  the  Professor  was  presented, 
and  bowed  so  low  that  the  self-esteem  label  showed, 
Miss  Norton  and  I  lost  all  self-control,  and 
Thurston  laughed  aloud  for  the  first  time;  and  so 
contagious  was  his  laugh  that  the  whole  class  joined. 

The  Professor  was  examining  his  wife's  work  by 
the  aid  of  a  large  hand-glass.  "  Mirthfulness,"  he 
said,  pointing  to  the  label  upon  his  own  head, — 
"and  by  the  way,  May  Blossom,  you  have  put  it  a 
little  too  far  to  the  right." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  163 

"  The  trouble  is,  Professor,  you  have  n't  any  to 
speak  of,  and  it 's  hard  to  label  nothing.  I  told  you 
that  you  ought  to  increase  it  a  little  for  the  sake  of 
your  classes,"  she  returned  laughing. 

"  Mirthfulness,  as  I  was  saying,"  he  continued 
blandly,  "  is  a  faculty  which  responds  to  an  appeal 
quicker  than  any  other  in  many  people  where  it  is 
no  larger  than  their  other  faculties.  I  am  not 
sorry  to  meet  it  in  my  pupils,  because  it  seldom  ac- 
companies stupidity." 

All  this  time  he  was  studying  his  head  in  the 
hand-glass. 

"  Lower  ideality,  if  you  please,  May  Blossom,  and 
raise  sublimity ;  they  should  be  on  a  line.  Now, 
please  take  the  small  heads  and  the  labels,  and 
begin.  May  Blossom,  give  Mrs.  Williams  a  head. 

"  I  take  it  for  granted  that  I  am  dealing  with 
people  who  comprehend  definitions.  Now,  you 
each  have  a  head  and  labels.  Select  benevolence, 
perhaps  the  noblest  of  the  faculties.  Look  at  my 
head  carefully,  then  place  your  label  on  the  head 
you  hold  just  where  you  think  it  ought  to  be. 
Now,  veneration. 

"  No,  no,  Mrs.  Moore,  you  are  entering  the  ter- 
ritory of  firmness.  That 's  better.  Mr.  Hardy, 
you  encroached  a  little  on  human  nature  with  your 
benevolence  in  the  start.  May  Blossom,  wash  off 
Mr.  Hardy's  head,  and  start  him  anew." 


164  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  Ob,  I  '11  give  him  a  fresh  head,  —  there  is 
another  in  the  bag,"  said  Mrs.  Blossom. 

I  started  again,  and  with  great  success.  When 
we  had  covered  the  little  heads,  Mrs.  Blossom 
washed  them,  and  the  Professor  covered  his  head 
with  a  handkerchief,  and  bade  us  take  our  labels 
and  see  how  many  we  could  place  from  memory. 
We  obeyed,  and  the  number  was  painfully  small. 

"  I  am  afraid  it  would  be  a  long  time  before  we 
could  treat  ourselves,"  said  Thurston,  as  the  Pro- 
fessor uncovered  the  correct  chart,  and  we  com- 
pared notes. 

"  Would  it  take  any  longer  than  to  study  medi- 
cine or  theology  ?  "  asked  the  Professor.  "  A 
true,  practical  Phrenologist  holds  the  mental  and 
moral  nature  of  himself,  and  of  any  one  he  can 
reach,  in  his  fingers.  Your  children  can  be  what- 
ever you  wish  them  to  be,  no  matter  what  Nature 
says.  The  practical  Phrenologist  holds  Nature  by 
the  throat ! " 

"  Then  the  thief  can  train  up  his  child  to  be  a 
cleverer  thief  than  himself,"  I  observed. 

"Certainly,"  said  the  Professor;  "and  every 
prison  can  have  a  practical  Phrenologist  instead  of 
a  chaplain,  and  those  who  enter  depraved  will 
come  out  moral.  Every  Foundling  Hospital  can 
have  one.  I  would  agree  to  take  an  atheist  and 
convert  him  into  a  Moody  in  one  year,  simply  by 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  165 

the  gentle  friction  of  the  four  fingers  of  my  right 
hand." 

"It  is  very  wonderful,"  said  Miss  Norton.  "I 
wish  you  would  treat  Mr.  Hardy's  locality ;  he  went 
off  quite  early  this  morning  and  got  lost.  Mrs. 
Moore  and  I  felt  very  anxious  about  him." 

The  Professor  reached  out  his  hand,  felt  of  my 
head  and  said,  "  He  did  not  get  lost,  my  dear 
young  lady.  If  he  told  you  he  did,  it  is  his  con- 
scientiousness and  not  his  locality  which  needs 
treating ;  and  this  is  where  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  Phrenology  is  necessary  in  order  not  to  be  de- 
ceived. Supposing,  now,  you  were  truly  alarmed 
for  fear  that  Mr.  Hardy  should  lose  himself,  and 
in  that  fear  you  treated  his  locality,  when  probably 
if  he  lost  himself  it  was  because  he  wanted  to  do 
so." 

"  He  has  not  said  he  was  lost,"  Miss  Norton 
admitted ;  "  we  only  imagined  it,  although  I  don't 
believe  his  conscientiousness  is  as  large  as  the 
other  bumps." 

"  No  careful  physician  would  prescribe  for  a 
patient  before  he  understood  his  case,"  said  the 
Professor.  "  To  become  a  competent  practical 
Phrenologist  requires  time  and  study ;  but  I  be- 
lieve there  is  not  a  person  in  this  class  who  could 
not  reach  it.  At  present,  I  am  the  only  one  in  the 
world;  but  soon  my  pupils  will  be  scattered  all 


1 66  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

over  the  country,  and  one  very  promising  one  is 
now  studying  with  a  thought  of  practising  in 
England." 

Shortly  after,  he  retired  with  Thurston ;  and 
when  we  saw  him  again,  his  head  was  smooth  and 
shone  like  a  billiard-hall  at  rest. 

"  I  wish  we  could  have  the  Temple  twins  to 
experiment  with,"  said  Thurston ;  "  there  would 
be  a  chance  for  the  Professor  to  prove  his 
theory." 

"  I  have  got  beyond  experimenting,"  the  Profes- 
sor declared  mildly. 

"  I  mean  for  us  to  experiment  with,"  Thurston 
explained.  "These  twins  are  exactly  alike;  you 
could  not  tell  one  from  the  other, — infant  pro- 
toplasts, you  know  ;  two  little  black  mice  could  n't 
be  more  alike." 

"  I  know  them  if  they  are  Emmanuel  Temple's 
children,"  said  the  Professor.  "  They  are  really 
exactly  alike ;  you  would  realize  it  if  you  were  a 
Phrenologist." 

"Did n't  we  always  say  so?"  demanded  Thurs- 
ton. "  I  have  an  idea !  Can  you  stay  here  a 
week,  Professor?" 

"  I  shall  have  to  go  into  the  city  two  or  three 
hours  every  day  to  meet  my  classes." 

"  That  will  be  all  right.  You  can  give  us  a  les- 
son every  day,  either  before  you  go  or  after  you 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  167 

get  back.  I  think  we  could  stand  two  lessons  a 
day,  —  don't  you,  Clara  ?  " 

Miss  Norton  thought  she  could,  if  I  felt  strong 
enough  ;  and  it  was  decided  to  have  two  lessons  a 
day. 

That  afternoon  Thurston  brought  the  twins  from 
the  farmhouse,  and  said  they  were  to  stay  a 
week. 

"You  shall  not  torment  those  poor  children 
just  for  sport,"  said  his  mother.  "  Now,  I  am  in 
earnest." 

"  The  minute  they  want  to  go  back  they  can  go," 
said  Thurston  ;  "  and  if  Consolation  goes  awayi 
she  will  be  glad  to  leave  them  for  Maria  Williams 
to  look  after  for  a  week." 

"  I  shall  not  promise  to  take  care  of  them  for  a 
week,"  said  Maria  Williams,  quickly. 

"  Then  Clara  must,"  returned  Thurston. 

"  You  can't  have  them  in  the  class,"  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Blossom.  "  The  Professor  would  n't  allow 
them  there." 

"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Thurston.  "  He  did  n't  say 
so  when  I  mentioned  it  this  morning." 

"  I  don't  suppose  he  thought  you  really  meant 
to  bring  them.  Why,  you  see,  the  Professor  and 
Emmanuel  Temple  are  not  on  very  friendly  terms  ; 
and  Consolation  Samson,  —  she  used  to  be  Mrs. 
Samson  —  got  a  divorce,  and  — 


1 68  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  May  Blossom  !  "  cried  the  Professor. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  she  said  good-naturedly,  "  I  sha'n  't 
tell  anything ;  but  you  see  we  used  to  live  in  the 
same  house  with  her  when  she  was  Mrs.  Samson, 
and  she  had  a  little  boy,  and  she  used  to  pinch  his 
nose  —  " 

"  May  Blossom,  you  are  talking  scandal!  "  said 
the  Professor,  severely. 

"  Well,  she  did,"  returned  Mrs.  Blossom  ;  "  and 
I  will  tell  that  because  I  started  to,  and  if  I  did  n't 
they  might  think  it  worse  than  it  really  was.  She 
did  use  to  pinch  his  nose  to  punish  him;  and  it 
was  such  a  little  bit  of  a  nose,  I  really  believe  it 
shrank  from  fear.  I  used  to  give  her  a  piece  of 
my  mind;  but  what  made  her  so  down  on  the 
Professor  was  because,  when  he  examined  her 
head,  he  said  that  her  bump  of  conscientiousness 
was  the  smallest  he  had  ever  met  with.  Oh,  I 
don't  wonder  that  she  hates  the  Professor!  He 
wanted  to  make  a  cast  of  her  head  to  use  in  his 
classes  to  illustrate  —  how  was  it  you  expressed  it, 
Professor?  I  remember  it  was  right  out,  plump, 
point-blank." 

"  I  only  said  her  head  would  serve  to  show  an 
intellectual  but  thoroughly  unscrupulous  char- 
acter," said  the  Professor;  "and  Phrenology 
never  lies." 

"I  never  blamed  you,  dear,  for  telling  her  what 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  169 

was  true  when  she  asked  you ;  but  you  need  n't 
have  asked  to  take  a  cast  of  her  head." 

"  I  would  give  a  cast  of  my  head  to  any  one," 
he  said,  "  providing  it  should  be  used  to  benefit 
mankind." 

"  But  your  dear  old  head  would  be  as  perfect  as 
Shakespeare's,  if  you  would  only  take  time  enough 
to  doctor  your  mirthfulness  a  little.  Don't  look 
so  solemn  !  I  have  n't  said  anything  very  bad ; 
only  I  wanted  to  give  a  reason  why  you  could  n't 
have  those  children  in  your  classes.  I  don't 
want  to  get  mixed  up  with  Consolation  Samson, 
myself." 

"  I  have  invited  the  babes  for  a  week,  and  they 
must  stay,"  said  Thurston  ;  and  it  was  decided 
afterward  that  Miss  Norton  should  have  one  to 
develop,  and  I  the  other.  Maria  Williams  kindly 
tied  a  red  ribbon  about  the  neck  of  my  protoplast, 
and  a  yellow  about  the  neck  of  Miss  Norton's,  so 
we  could  tell  them  apart.  The  Professor  was  to 
know  nothing  about  it. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  make  of  yours,  Clara  ?  '' 
Thurston  inquired,  placing  the  yellow-ribboned 
protoplast  in  Miss  Norton's  lap. 

"  I  have  not  made  up  my  mind  yet,"  she  replied. 
"  I  want  something  quite  opposite  to  Mr.  Hardy's 
idea." 

"  I   suppose  there  is  a  difference  even  in  pro- 


170  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

toplasm,"  I  said,  "and  this  we  have  seems  to  be 
very  inert ;  and  as  I  know  I  shall  be  looking  for 
immediate  results,  I  thought  some  of  making  a 
magazine  poetess  of  mine." 

They  all  praised  me  for  this  idea,  both  for  the 
harmless  tendency  as  well  as  for  the  humbleness  of 
my  ambition  ;  and  Maria  Williams  suggested  that 
Miss  Norton  develop  her  protoplast  into  an 
opponent  to  woman  suffrage,  because  it  would 
make  her  popular  among  a  most  respectable  class, 
and  really  required  less  mental  ability  even  than  a 
magazine  poetess. 

Thurston  declared  we  had  not  shown  any  faith 
in  the  Professor's  theory,  for  the  line  of  work  was 
the  same,  and  would  require  exactly  the  same 
development;  and  he  proposed  that  Miss  Norton 
change  her  idea,  and  instead  of  developing  an 
opponent,  she  should  bring  out  an  advocate  of 
woman's  suffrage. 

This  she  declined  to  do,  on  the  ground  that  the 
poor  little  thing  must  be  something  that  would 
make  her  comfortable  and  happy.  We  talked  for 
a  long  time,  and  finally  agreed  that  we  should  not 
let  the  others  know  our  plans,  nor  should  we  ask  the 
Professor  any  questions  in  the  class  which  would 
lead  any  one  to  guess  what  we  were  about.  I  was 
not  sorry  to  find  myself  already  beginning  to 
admire  Clara  Norton. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  171 


CHAPTER  X. 

IN  the  evening  the  Professor  gave  us  another 
lesson,  and  I  felt  tired  and  a  little  confused 
when  I  went  upstairs  to  go  to  bed.  I  had  been 
working  very  hard  to  place  the  labels  right  on  the 
little  head  he  had  given  me,  and  while  I  was  pre- 
paring for  bed  I  tried  to  remember  all  that  he  had 
said. 

The  more  I  looked  into  the  subject,  strange  as 
it  may  seem,  the  more  plausible  it  appeared  to  me. 
I  intended  to  see  the  Professor  the  next  day  to 
ask  him  if  he  could  make  a  business  man  of  me. 
Then  I  imagined  he  said  that  he  could.  Perhaps 
it  would  take  all  summer,  but  I  did  not  think 
Nanny  or  Tom  would  expect  anything  of  me  before 
autumn.  How  surprised  they  would  be  when  they 
saw  my  success ;  and  how  full  of  remorse,  when 
they  recalled  the  many  little  flings  I  had  borne 
from  them  because  I  did  not  know  so  much  about 
business  as  Tom. 

I  began  to  run  my  fingers  cautiously  over  my 
head;  but  I  did  not  feel  as  if  I  had  Nature  by  the 
throat  yet.  I  was  afraid  I  might  rub  the  wrong 


172  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

bumps.  I  had  brought  the  small  head  upstairs 
with  me,  and  now  began  to  study  it.  I  imagined 
it  my  own  head,  and  began  working  to  make  a 
business  man  of  it. 

A  brilliant  idea  came  to  me.  I  would  make  a 
note  of  the  bumps  which  I  thought  ought  to  be 
enlarged  in  a  good  business  head,  and  those  which 
ought  to  be  left  to  wither  and  die,  and  show  the 
paper  to  the  Professor  the  next  morning  and  see 
what  he  thought  of  it.  In  that  way  I  could  soon 
learn  to  treat  myself,  and  he  would  never  know  my 
object.  He  had  told  us  that  combativeness  and 
destructiveness  were  motive  powers,  and  I  put  those 
down  as  requiring  the  most  friction  on  the  head  of 
a  man  of  business.  I  then  made  a  list  of  those 
which  should  next  demand  attention. 

I  was  a  long  time  preparing  my  paper,  but 
condensed  it  to  read  about  like  this :  "  Practical 
Phrenologist 's  receipt  for  making  a  business  man  : 
Rub  well  the  organs  of  self-esteem,  firmness, 
cautiousness,  continuity,  acquisitiveness.  Avoid 
veneration,  benevolence,  conscientiousness,  sub- 
limity, ideality,  spirituality.  By  reversing  the 
words  rub  and  avoid,  the  practical  Phrenologist 
has  a  receipt  for  forming  an  ideal  clergyman.  A 
light  friction  of  hope  in  both  cases." 

So  well  pleased  was  I  with  this  paper  that  I  read 
and  re-read  it,  and  might  have  continued  doing  so 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  1 73 

for  a  long  time  but  for  a  soft  rap  on  the  door.  I 
said,  "  Come  in,"  without  remembering  that  I  was 
not  dressed ;  nor  did  the  fact  occur  to  me  when 
the  door  opened  and. the  old  housekeeper  entered. 
She  was  an  aristocratic  looking  lady,  quite  old- 
fashioned  in  dress,  and  always  humble  in  speech ; 
yet,  in  spite  of  all  this,  I  always  felt  that  she  was  a 
proud  and  haughty  woman,  and  in  many  respects 
superior  to  those  she  served. 

"  I  beg  pardon  for  disturbing  you,"  she  said, 
closing  the  door  gently  behind  her.  "  I  have  come 
to  ask  a  favor  of  you,  Mr  Hardy." 

"  My  dear  madam,"  said  I,  "  believe  me  that  in 
asking  me  to  serve  you,  you  confer  an  honor  upon 
me  which  I  appreciate;"  and  I  approached  her 
with  what  I  imagined  was  old-school  dignity,  when 
she  said,  — 

"  Won't  you  get  cold,  sir,  hopping  round  in  your 
nightgown  ?  I  wish  you  would  get  into  bed  while 
I  talk  to  you." 

I  dropped  my  receipt  for  making  a  business 
man,  and  hid  myself  in  the  bedclothes. 

"  I  want  you  to  put  on  a  dressing-gown  and  go  to 
the  room  opposite  this,"  she  said.  "  There  is  some 
one  there  who  keeps  asking  for  you,  and  nobody 
is  willing  you  should  go." 

"  Who  is  it  ?  "  I  asked,  "  and  why  should  I  go  if 
nobody  is  willing  to  have  me  do  so  ?  " 


1 74  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  I  think  you  will  be  glad  if  you  go ;  but  it  is 
not  for  me  to  urge  you  further.  But  if  you  do  go, 
try  to  overcome  any  prejudice  you  may  have 
towards  the  person  who  is  there." 

"  That  is  what  I  am  living  for  now,  madam,  — 
to  overcome  prejudices;  and  I  am  overcoming 
them  so  fast,  I  fear  I  shall  not  have  enough  to  last 
through  my  visit  here.  If  Alexander  had  only 
thought  of  his  prejudices,  he  need  not  have  wept 
that  he  had  not  more  worlds  to  conquer." 

"  You  are  learning  it  in  your  youth,"  she  said 
solemnly.  "  If  I  had  learned  it  even  in  age,  I 
should  not  be  here  now."  She  looked  sadly  down 
at  the  keys  at  her  side.  "  Good-night,  my  son ; 
the  room  is  just  opposite  yours." 

It  was  impossible  after  she  had  gone  to  return 
to  practical  Phrenology.  The  forbidden  chamber 
in  Blue  Beard's  castle  was  no  stronger  a  magnet 
to  the  unhappy  Fatima  than  that  room  opposite 
was  to  me.  But  Fatima  was  a  woman ;  and  a 
woman  must  always  make  a  pretence,  if  no  more, 
of  preferring  rectitude  where  a  man  goes  straight 
to  destruction,  if  he  goes  at  all. 

In  five  minutes  after  the  housekeeper  left  me,  I 
had  put  on  my  dressing-gown  and  slippers  and 
had  crossed  the  hall.  I  rapped  at  the  door,  which 
was  opened  gently  by  Maria  Williams.  She  looked 
troubled  when  she  saw  me,  and  came  into  the  hail. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  175 

"  No,"  she  whispered,  "  you  must  not  go  in 
there,  Mr.  Hardy." 

"  There  is  somebody  there  who  wants  to  see 
me,"  I  urged.  "  Is  there  any  reason  why  I  should 
not  go  ?  " 

"  You  are  not  strong  yet ;  and  —  it  is  not  best. 
There  is  probably  no  great  danger.  Who  told 
you  ?  " 

I  did  not  notice  her  question,  but  persuaded  her 
that  I  was  quite  strong  now  and  that  her  anxiety 
for  me  was  unnecessary  ;  and  we  entered  the  room 
together. 

There  I  found  Mrs.  Moore  standing  by  the  bed 
where  Dwight  Salem  lay  partly  undressed,  his  face 
as  white  as  death. 

"  Who  told  you  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Moore,  as  soon 
as  she  saw  me.  "  I  did  not  want  you  to  know  it." 

I  sat  on  the  bed  and  asked,  "  What  has  gone 
wrong,  Salem  ?  " 

"  1  wanted  to  see  you,"  he  said,  reaching  feebly 
for  my  hand.  "  Who  bwought  you  hewe  ?  I  must 
see  you  alone,  John.  I  must  tell  you  something." 

"  Now  you  have  come,  you  may  as  well  stay," 
said  Mrs.  Moore  ;  "  and  if  Mr.  Salem  feels  that 
he  must  talk  to  you,  I  think  it  is  just  as  well  to 
allow  it." 

After  they  had  left  us  alone,  I  repeated  my 
question  :  "  What  has  gone  wrong  ?  " 


176  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  Only  a  twifle,"  he  replied  ;  "  but  I  wish  it  had 
gone  wight." 

"  Tell  me  what  you  mean." 

"  Only  a  bullet,  John,"  he  said,  coolly. 

"  Who  fired  it  ?  " 

"  I,"  he  returned  gently. 

For  a  few  minutes  neither  of  us  spoke.  I  was 
thinking  I  had  been  glad  that  he  had  not  come 
back  with  us  from  the  fair.  Now  I  thought  if  he 
had  only  stayed  with  us,  this  could  not  have  hap- 
pened; and  the  rare,  proud  face  of  Dora  Salem 
rose  before  me.  These  two  were  the  last  of  the 
name.  Was  it  the  pallor  of  death  that  had  settled 
upon  his  handsome  face  ?  We  had  known  each 
other  from  babyhood,  but  never  until  now  had  I 
believed  that  I  held  for  him  the  slightest  regard. 

"Yes,  I  shall  die,"  he  said,  as  if  answering  my 
thought. 

"  Have  you  seen  a  surgeon  ?  " 

"  Thuwston  has  dwiven  to  the  city  fow  one.  I 
asked  to  see  you  fiwst,  but  they  would  not  call  you. 
I  sent  fow  you  because  you  awe  my  sistevv's  fwiend. 
Do  you  know  why  you  wewe  nevew  mine,  John 
Hawdy?" 

"I  thought  we  were  friends,"  I  returned,  a  little 
embarrassed. 

"  We  wewe  nevew  fwiends  because  thewe  is  one 
lettew  in  the  alphabet  that  I  could  nevew  pwo- 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  177 

nounce.  You  wewe  a  big  fellow  who  could  woll 
youw  ahs,  and  you  thought  a  little  man  who 
could  n't  must  be  an  ass.  The  Salems  nevew 
took  much  twouble  to  explain  themselves ;  and  I 
would  n't  to-day,  only  I  may  die  —  and  I  am 
thinking  of  Do." 

He  closed  his  eyes  and  was  silent  a  few  moments, 
then  roused  himself  and  said,  — 

"  I  want  to  talk  awhile  to  you,  then  I  want  you 
to  cawwy  me  home.  I  have  no  claim  upon  these 
people.  I  must  have  been  in  a  swoon  when  Thuws- 
ton  dwove  away,  or  I  should  have  had  him  cawwy 
me  home.  I  ought  not  to  die  hewe.  It  is  n't 
couwteous  to  die  in  a  man's  house  unless  you  have 
a  stwong  claim  upon  him.  I  am  all  the  time  think- 
ing of  Do.  She  is  a  twue  Salem  ;  she  is  pwoud, 
and  honowable  ;  and  I  — yes,  you  awe  wight,  John  ; 
I  am  an  ass !  But  tell  Do  I  have  nevew  dis- 
gwaced  the  name.  All  I  have  will  be  hews,  you 
know,"  he  whispered  ;  "  sometime  you  will  mawwy 
hew." 

"  I  will  never  marry  a  lady,  Dwight  Salem,  for 
her  fortune." 

"  Listen  to  me,  John,"  a  faint  color  coming  for 
an  instant  to  his  white  face.  "  In  the  gwave  thewe 
is  no  pwide.  Can  any  one  heaw  us  ?  " 

"  No,  the  door  is  closed,"  I  replied  softly. 

"  Heaw  me  say  it  then,  John  Hawdy,  and  you 


178  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

awe  the  only  one  who  will  evew  heaw  it :  I  die  be- 
cause I  love  Mrs.  Temple!" 

"  Then  you  will  die  for  a  very  unworthy  creature ; 
and  you  'd  better  live  to  despise  her." 

"  I  could  nevew  despise  hew,  and  I  know  hew 
bettew  than  you  do." 

"  She  is  a  diabolical  woman,  the  tool  of  a  villain, 
and  she  cares  for  you  only  because  of  your 
money !  " 

"  You  awe  wong,  wong,  wong !  "  he  said  softly, 
but  firmly.  "  I  can  set  you  wight.  If  she  only 
wanted  to  have  my  money,  would  she  be  willing  to 
mawwy  me  ?  " 

"  Marry  you !     Why  she  is  married." 

"  Yes,  I  know,"  he  said  sadly  ;  "  she  is  mawwied 
to  a  gowilla,  and  has  two  miniatuwe  gowillas ; 
did  n't  you  see  them  at  the  faiw  ?  You  can  tell  me 
nothing  about  hew,  John  ;  but  she  offewed  to  get  a 
divowce,  and  leave  the  old  gowilla  and  mawwy 
me ;  and  I  wished  I  had  been  a  hod-cawwiew,  that 
I  might  have  done  it.  If  I  had  had  any  name  but 
Salem,  I  would  have  done  it.  I  would  have  done 
it !  I  would  have  mawwied  hew,  and  gone  to  the 
end  of  the  wowld  with  hew." 

"  You  ought  to  thank  God  then  that  he  made 
you  a  Salem." 

He  smiled  faintly  and  said,  "  I  keep  thinking  of 
Do.  She  is  stwong  and  pwoucl.  You  will  mawwy 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  1 79 

hew  some  day,  but  you  will  nevew  tell  hew  this 
that  I  tell  you  to-day.  But,  John,"  and  his  voice 
grew  very  low,  "  when  that  day  comes,  will  you 
wemembew  the  woman  I  loved,  and  will  you  pwo- 
mise  to  see  that  she  gets  a  pawt  of  my  money  ?  " 

I  made  an  impatient  gesture,  but  dared  not  trust 
myself  to  speak.  He  laid  his  hand  upon  mine  and 
continued  in  the  same  low  voice,  — 

"  Think,  John,  — the  only  woman  Dwight  Salem 
evew  loved  has  cwied  fwom  hungew  !  Think  of 
the  disgwace ! "  He  covered  his  eyes  with  his 
hand  as  if  to  shut  out  some  dreadful  sight.  Then 
he  smiled  again  and  said,  "  In  the  gwave  thewe  is 
no  pwide.  I  love  hew!  If  she  loves  my  money 
mowe  than  she  loves  me,  then  she  shall  have 
enough  of  it.  My  life  and  my  money  belong  to 
me  ;  they  awe  wightfully  my  own,  — she  shall  have 
both ;  but  my  name  is  Do's  name  —  and  I  keep 
thinking  of  Do !  " 

I  wanted  to  tell  him  all  that  I  had  heard  that 
morning  on  the  subject  of  his  money,  but  feared 
the  consequences.  His  hand  had  grown  hot,  and 
the  faint  color  in  his  face  had  deepened.  He  had 
closed  his  eyes  again,  and  I  heard  him  murmur,  — 

"  And  you  will  mawwy  Do.  But  pwomise  nevew 
to  tell  hew  I  spoke  of  it  fiwst  to  you." 

"  She  will  never  marry  me,  Salem,"  I  said,  as 
gently  as  possible  ;  "  she  is  too  proud." 


180  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  You  weally  do  not  love  hew  !  "  he  exclaimed  in 
horror.  "  John,  do  you  wemembew  when  we  wewe 
childwen  and  that  old  gypsy  woman  wanted  to  tell 
ouw  fowtunes  ?  Do  and  I  would  n't  let  hew  tell 
ouws,  —  do  you  wemembew  it?  She  said,  '  Pwoud 
and  gwand,  and  wich  as  you  both  awe,  you  shall 
both  be  unhappy  in  love  ! ' ' 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  "  I  remember  it.  I  stoned  her 
for  you ;  that  broke  the  charm.  You  will  both  be 
happy  in  love." 

"  You  do  not  love  Do ! "  he  murmured,  in  the 
same  tone  of  horror  he  had  used  before.  He  then 
raised  himself,  and  exclaimed  almost  savagely, 
"  Did  you  evew  know  any  one  so  beautiful  or  so 
pwoud  as  she  ?  Who  is  so  good  and  so  gentle  ? 
Show  me  anothew  face,  anothew  hand,  anothew 
step  like  Do's!  But  she  is  a  twue  Salem;  she 
would  not  buy  youw  love  —  and  you  do  not  love 
hew  !  "  These  last  words  were  spoken  as  if  they 
contained  a  horrible  truth  which  he  had  just 
discovered. 

"  She  will  never  care  for  any  one  who  is  un- 
worthy of  her;  you  can  trust  her  for  that," 
1  said  as  kindly  as  I  could,  taking  his  small 
hand. 

For  a  moment  he  looked  at  me  earnestly,  as  if 
he  would  speak,  then  lay  back  upon  the  pillow 
with  a  sigh.  When  he  spoke  again,  his  voice  was 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  181 

so  low  that  it  was  with  difficulty  I  caught  the 
words : 

"  My  pwide  has  bwought  me  hewe  ;  I  cannot  let 
Do  suffew  as  I  have.  I  will  give  you  my  fowtune, 
John;  then  who  shall  say  you  mawwied  hew  for 
hews?  You  will  keep  the  secwet,  for  you  awe 
honowable." 

"That  would  be  very  honorable,  would  n't  it? 
Take  my  advice,  and  don't  try  to  arrange  matters 
until  you  are  well.  It  seems  to  me  you  are  doing 
badly." 

"  But  if  I  do  not  get  well  ?  " 

"You  will.     You  must!" 

"  Fowget  what  I  have  said,  if  it  was  a  mistake. 
I  have  something  else  to  tell  you;  you  will  say  that 
all  I  have  said  comes  fwom  a  disowdewed  bwain. 
What  I  have  alweady  told  you  is  tvvue,  but  what  I 
saw  may  be  imagination.  If  it  means  that  I  am 
going  to  lose  my  mind,  I  want  you  to  take  me 
home  to-night.  When  I  was  bwought  fiwst  into 
this  house,  I  believe  I  saw  my  gweat-gwandmothew 
Salem  !  You  laugh  at  the  idea." 

"  I  was  wondering  how  you  could  recognize  your 
great-grandmother." 

"  Do  you  not  wemembew  hew  powtwait  that  has 
always  hung  in  ouw  libwawy  ?  " 

A  chill,  worse  than  Consolation  Temple  had 
ever  caused  me,  ran  down  my  spinal  column ;  for 


1 82  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

while  he  spoke  I  recalled  the  portrait,  and  at  last 
was  able  to  tell  where  I  had  seen  the  aristocratic 
old  housekeeper. 

"  You  do  not  laugh  at  me  now,"  he  said ;  "  you 
believe  that  sometimes  people  see  the  dead  when 
they  awe  going  to  die." 

How  could  I  tell  him  that  he  had  not  seen  her  ? 
Who  had  sent  me  to  him  ?  I  reminded  him  that  he 
had  fainted,  and  possibly  his  head  was  confused. 

"  She  came  because  she  was  afwaid  I  was  going 
to  disgwace  the  name,"  he  said. 

I  begged  him  to  think  no  more  about  it;  and 
when  Mrs.  Moore  came  to  tell  us  that  Thurston 
had  come  with  the  surgeon,  he  seemed  to  have  for- 
gotten it. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  183 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE  wound,  although  serious,  did  not  prove  to 
be  dangerous ;  and  after  a  few  days  Dwight 
Salem  was  able  to  be  taken  home.  I  was  curious 
for  the  details  bf  the  affair,  but  could  not  ask  for 
them,  and  he  did  not  offer  to  tell  me. 

The  day  after  he  left,  the  Emma  Liz  found  me 
in  the  garden,  and  said  she  would  like  to  talk  with 
me  where  no  one  could  hear  us ;  and  she  led  the 
way  to  the  seat  which  I  had  begun  to  look  upon 
as  fateful  to  me. 

"  How  much  do  you  know  about  little  Salem's 
getting  shot?  "  she  asked  abruptly  as  we  sat  down. 

"  That  he  was  shot.  Is  there  any  more  to 
know  ?  " 

"  You  know  that  he  shot  himself ;  so  do  I,  —  for 
I  saw  him  do  it." 

"  You !  "  I  exclaimed ;  "  and  where  was  he  ? 
He  said  nothing  about  you." 

"  Of  course  he  did  n't,  and  he  told  me  to  say 
nothing;  but  I  can't  keep  quiet.  What  did  I  tell 
you  about  your  handsome  Rebekah  ?  " 


184  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  What  has  she  to  do  with  it  ?  "  I  must  have 
feigned  surprise  badly,  for  she  said,  sarcasti- 
cally, — 

"  Oh,  how  little  we  know  !  Well,  men  ain't  sup- 
posed to  have  any  curiosity ;  but  I  will  tell  you  all 
the  same.  The  day  you  met  Consolation  and  her 
charcoal  husband,  —  you  know  the  day  you  walked 
to  the  farmhouse  with  them  and  Thurston,  —  well, 
that  day,  quite  late  in  the  afternoon,  I  saw  little 
Salem  and  madam  walking  through  Lover's  Lane 
together.  In  the  evening  I  was  down  town  with 
old  Miss  Kimball,  and  I  saw  him  again.  It  was 
all  of  nine  o'clock,  and  he  was  walking  pretty  fast 
towards  Lover's  Lane.  I  don't  know  what  made 
me  follow  him,  but  I  did;  I  left  old  Miss  Kimball 
to  go  home  alone,  and  I  went  after  him,  clear 
through  the  lane.  I  thought  he  would  meet  Con- 
solation there,  but  he  did  n't.  When  he  got  to  the 
end  of  the  lane,  he  sat  down  on  a  tree  that  had 
fallen ;  and  I  went  as  near  as  I  dared,  for  I  did  n't 
want  him  to  see  me.  It  was  bright  moonlight,  and 
I  thought  I  saw  something  shine  in  his  hand. 
Anyhow  I  imagined  it  was  a  pistol,  and  that  he 
was  going  to  kill  somebody.  It  never  came  into 
my  head  that  he  was  going  to  shoot  himself.  After 
a  good  spell  he  went  into  the  woods,  and  I  fol- 
lowed after  him." 

"  Had  you  no  fear  ?  "  I  asked. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  185 

"  Land,  no !  He  had  nothing  against  me,  and 
always  treated  me  in  the  most  polite  way.  Well,  I 
kept  a  good  lookout  for  Consolation ;  but  she 
was  n't  anywheres  about,  nor  nobody  else ;  and 
then,  all  of  a  sudden,  it  came  to  me  that  may  be 
he  was  agoing  to  shoot  himself,  and  I  began  to 
shake  all  over,  and  couldn't  move  hand  nor  foot. 
He  went  into  a  side-path  where  the  trees  were 
pretty  thick,  and  it  was  beginning  to  look  kind  of 
scary.  I  was  going  to  speak  to  him,  but  I  was 
afraid  that  might  make  him  fire  before  I  got  to 
him.  I  am  awful  strong,  and  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  go  up  sudden  and  snatch  the  pistol.  But  he 
did  n't  make  a  great  long  speech,  the  way  they  do 
at  the  theatre  before  they  kill  themselves ;  and  the 
first  thing  I  knew,  he  had  the  pistol  pointed  straight 
at  his  head.  What  I  wanted  to  do  was  to  knock 
his  arm  up,  so  that  the  shot  would  go  up  in  the 
air;  but  it  was  all  done  so  sudden,  I  suppose.  I 
only  took  hold  of  his  arm  and  dragged  it  down, 
for  the  ball  went  into  his  side.  Oh,  land  !  why 
can't  anybody  keep  their  wits  when  they  're  scared  ? 
I  thought  he  was  dead  as  he  ever  wanted  to  be, 
but  he  wasn't;  he  was  going  to  fire  another  shot. 
By  that  time  I  was  n't  so  scared  as  I  was  mad,  and 
I  grabbed  the  pistol  and  says,  'You  better  save 
that  shot  for  a  better  woman  than  Consolation 
Temple.' 


1 86  A  Fearless  Investigator, 

"  Then  he  says,  '  I  thought  you  was  John  Hardy ; 
I  knew  you  was  following  me,  but  I  thought  you 
was  John  Hardy.  What  wight  have  you  to  follow 
me  ?  '  You  know  he  always  says  '  wight '  and 
'  wong.' 

"  '  I  did  n't  have  any  right  to  follow  you,'  says  I, 
speaking  as  proud  as  he  did ;  '  but  some  day  may 
be  you  won't  be  very  sorry  that  I  did.  Can  you 
walk?' 

"'Give  me  my  pistol,'  says  he;  then  before  I 
could  say  '  Land  of  Liberty !  '  he  had  fainted  away, 
just  as  dead  as  a  log.  I  never  saw  a  man  faint 
away  before,  and  I  thought  he  was  dead,  sure 
enough ;  and  if  your  sweet  Rebekah  had  come 
along  just  then,  I  think  I  could  have  shot  her  with- 
out a  shiver. 

"  I  knew  there  was  a  brook  near  there,  and  I  got 
some  water  in  his  hat,  —  his  poor  little  dandy  hat, 
—  and  I  wet  his  face,  and  pretty  soon  he  opened 
his  eyes.  '  Tell  them  it  was  an  accident,'  says  he ; 
'  go  away  now  and  leave  me.' 

"  'What  for?'  says  I. 

"  '  I  shall  die,'  says  he  ;  '  you  must  n't  be  here. 
If  I  couldn't  speak,  they  might  say  you  did  it.' 
Now  was  n't  he  pretty  good  to  think  of  that,  and 
he  almost  dead?  He's  a  man,  if  he  is  a  snob. 
Says  I,  '  Don't  fret  about  me ;  only  if  you  Ve  got 
any  common-sense  left,  just  listen  a  minute.  I 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  187 

want  to  tell  you  what  we  must  do.  I  am  going 
back  to  our  barn  to  get  the  farm  horse  and  buggy. 
I  will  drive  down  to  the  foot  of  Lover's  Lane  ;  you 
must  walk  as  far  as  that.  Don't  try  to  move  till  I 
come  back,  and  it  will  seem  to  you  as  if  you  was 
waiting  for  resurrection  day,  but  I  have  got  to 
sneak  round  the  farmhouse  to  see  if  anybody  is 
up,'  —  for  I  knew  that  Emmanuel  Temple  never 
went  to  bed  till  almost  morning. 

"I  tell  you,  Mr.  Hardy,  the  grass  didn't  grow 
under  my  feet  going  home  ;  and  I  found  the  farm- 
house all  dark.  I  tackled  up  pretty  lively,  and  I 
made  old  Bill  travel  as  he  was  n't  much  used  to. 
I  thought  there  was  some  brandy  in  the  parlor 
closet,  but  there  was  n't  nothing  but  some  of  Aunt 
Marthy's  cordial ;  but  cordials  ain't  wholly  tem- 
perance, and  it  did  first-rate.  If  I  had  n't  had  it, 
I  don't  believe  I  could  have  got  him  to  the  buggy; 
but  I  lifted  him  in  and  drove  him  to  The  Poplars. 
He  wanted  to  be  taken  to  you.  When  we  were 
driving  up  the  avenue,  says  I,  '  It  was  an  accident; 
you  was  n't  far  from  the  woods,  and  was  afraid, 
and  looked  at  your  pistol  to  see  if  it  was  all  right, 
and  it  went  off.' 

"  '  I  was  nevew  afwaid,'  says  he. 

"'Well,'  says  I,  'just  tell  me  what  story  you 
want  me  to  tell,  and  I  '11  tell  it.  You  don't  want 
everybody  to  know  that  you  meant  to  do  it,  do 
you?' 


1 88  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  '  If  I  die,  you  may  tell  John  Hardy,'  says  he  ; 
'  he  would  never  guess  the  truth.  You  are  very 
kind  and  good,  but  you  need  not  lie  for  me.' 

"'  Well,'  says  I,  '  I  am  just  good  enough  to  tell 
a  lie  if  it  will  help  you  any.' 

"'  I  shall  not  go  in  the  house,'  says  he;  'you 
can  call  Mr.  Hardy  out,  and  he  will  drive  me  to 
the  city.' 

"  He  was  so  set,  I  thought  the  best  thing  was  to 
get  you  out,  though  I  knew  they  would  n't  let  yon 
take  that  long  drive  to  the  city  if  they  knew  it.  I 
went  in  the  back  way,  and  found  you  had  gone  to 
bed;  the  only  thing  I  could  do  was  to  get  Thurs- 
ton.  I  told  him  little  Salem  was  fixing  his  pistol, 
and  had  shot  himself.  I  did  n't  make  much  of  it, 
and  I  think  now  everybody  believes  what  I  said 
was  true." 

"  But  why,  Miss  Emma  Liz,  do  you  tell  me  this 
now  ?  " 

"  Because  I  feel  that  you  are  the  only  one  Mr. 
Salem  would  be  willing  to  tell,  and  I  must  tell  it 
to  somebody ;  because  I  won't  stay  another  day 
under  the  same  roof  with  that  woman.  I  knew 
Mr.  Salem  had  gone,  and  it  was  about  time  for 
her  to  leave,  and  I  told  her  so;  but  she  told  me, 
as  cool  as  ever  you  please,  that  she  was  Mrs. 
Moore's  company  and  not  mine.  Then  I  went  to 
Aunt  Marthy,  and  told  her  to  give  her  a  hint;  and 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  189 

she  said  about  the  same,  —  that  Mrs.  Moore  owned 
the  farmhouse,  and  she  had  sent  her  there,  and  it 
was  true ;  and  though  her  high  and  mighty  airs 
ain't  very  pleasant,  Aunt  Marthy  says  there  is 
nothing  she  can  say  against  her.  And  there  I 
have  to  stay,  and  see  her  waving  her  long  fingers, 
and  saying  things  that  Satan  himself  could  n't 
understand,  and  putting  on  more  airs  than  an  act- 
ress. I  can't  stand  it !  What  shall  I  do  ?  " 

"  How  can  I  aid  you?"  I  asked  helplessly,  but 
with  sincere  sympathy  for  the  girl. 

"  Another  thing,"  she  continued,  her  eyes  filling 
with  tears,  "  I  am  getting  nervous ;  I  can't  sleep 
nights.  Just  as  soon  as  I  go  to  sleep,  I  am  creep- 
ing after  little  Salem  through  Lover's  Lane ;  then 
I  hear  the  pistol  go  off,  and  I  wake  up  with  a 
scream,  and  I  know  right  in  that  next  room  is  that 
horrid  woman.  If  I  go  to  Mrs.  Moore,  I  must  tell 
her  the  whole  thing,  and  I  have  n't  the  right  to. 
Can't  you  do  something,  so  they  will  send  her 
away  ?  I  did  n't  know  I  had  any  nerves,  but  I  am 
getting  awful.  What  shall  I  do  ?  " 

"  I  wish  I  could  help  you,  but  you  must  see  that 
I  can  do  nothing.  Unless,"  I  said,  becoming  sud- 
denly inspired,  "  I  ask  Thurston  to  invite  her  here, 
to  please  me.  He  knows  I  am  very  much  inter- 
ested now  in  investigating,  and  I  can  say  it  would 
be  a  fine  thing  to  have  a  medium  in  the  house." 


igo  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

She  made  an  indignant  gesture.  "  Thank  you, 
but  I  don't  care  to  go  creeping  after  any  more 
lunatics  ;  and  if  you  only  want  a  medium,  you  can 
ask  Miss  Norton  to  sit  for  you,  —  she  is  better 
than  Consolation  Temple.  I  'd  die  before  I  would 
do  anything  to  get.  Consolation  over  here;  that's 
just  what  she  wants,  —  to  get  to  the  big  house. 
You  can  send  her  flying  with  a  word,  if  you 
choose;  and  you  won't  do  it.  She'll  take  you  in 
next,  I  suppose.  But  I  've  no  need  to  worry;  it's 
nothing  to  me.  I  wish  now  I  'd  let  little  Salem 
alone ;  a  hole  in  an  empty  head  is  no  harm.  I 
am  sorry  I  troubled  you."  She  turned  angrily 
away. 

"  Stop  a  moment,  I  beg !  Let  me  justify  my 
position.  You  say  nobody  knows  the  truth  ;  if  I 
say  something  to  Thurston,  may  he  not  suspect 
something?  But  I  will  try  to  help  you,  if  you  will 
give  me  time  to  think  it  over.  Although  Mrs. 
Temple  is  not  in  the  same  house  that  I  am,  you 
acknowledge  yourself  that  she  is  a  guest  of  the 
same  lady;  how  can  one  guest  say  anything  to 
prejudice  his  hostess  against  another,  and  that 
other  a  lady  ?  " 

She  gave  her  head  a  violent  toss,  as  if  the  whole 
subject  rested  on  the  top  of  it,  and  she  would  shake 
it  off  and  be  done  with  it. 

"You  were  the  only  one  I  had  any  right  to  say 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  191 

this  to ;  you  are  the  last  one  I  should  have  picked 
out,  but  for  that.  You  are  a  stranger  to  me,  and  I 
had  no  business  to  ask  anything  of  you.  Good- 
day,  sir ;  "  and  in  spite  of  my  urgent  request  that 
she  should  stay  a  moment  longer,  she  hurried 
away. 

I  both  pitied  and  respected  her.  I  could  see 
that  the  strain  upon  her  nerves  had  made  her  irrita- 
ble and  a  little  unreasonable.  In  spite  of  her  deter- 
mination that  Consolation  should  not  come  to  the 
"  big  house,"  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  it  was 
the  only  way  out  of  the  trouble. 

I  found  Thurston,  and  after  speaking  of  other 
things  I  said,  "  I  thought  Mrs.  Temple  was  com- 
ing here  as  soon  as  your  aunt  went  away.  I  was 
very  much  interested  that  night  she  went  into  a 
trance,  and  I  thought  I  should  like  to  hear  her 
some  more." 

"  Oh,  she  is  nothing  to  Mandy  Litchfield,"  he 
said  ;  "  we  are  going  to  have  Mandy  here  soon,  to 
show  you  some  materializations.  She  can  mate- 
rialize as  fast  as  you  can  recognize." 

"  I  don't  doubt  it ;  but  I  like  the  lofty  style  of 
Consolation.  There  is  something  commonplace 
about  materializations.  Consolation  appeals  to 
the  imagination.  If  you  lower  Spiritualism  from 
that  realm,  you  spoil  it  for  me." 

"  I  '11  make  you  a  better  Spiritualist  than  that 


192  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

before  you  leave  The  Poplars,"  he  said,  laughing; 
"  but  not  through  Consolation.  Which  would  you 
rather  have  here,  —  the  Professor,  or  the  Tem- 
ples ?  For  if  the  Temples  come,  the  Blossoms 
probably  go." 

I  was  getting  on  very  well  in  practical  Phrenol- 
ogy, and  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  the  Professor's 
going  away,  and  said  I  should  enjoy  seeing  the 
Blossoms  and  the  Temples  together. 

"You  are  more  wicked  than  I,"  he  said. 
"  Mother  says  I  am  doing  all  I  can  to  make  her 
appear  ridiculous  in  your  eyes.  Here  I  have  in- 
vited St.  Cecilia  to  come  here,  and  mother  says 
she  won't  let  her  in.  But  be  patient ;  you  shall 
see  her  and  hear  her  sing,  if  you  won't  ask  any 
more  for  Consolation." 

I  could  have  said  no  more,  even  if  Miss  Norton 
had  not  come  up  at  that  moment  and  asked  how  I 
could  look  so  serious  after  a  tete-a-tete  with  the 
Emma  Liz. 

"  It  is  just  that,"  I  acknowledged,  "which  makes 
me  look  so  serious." 

"  Do  explain  ! "  she  said. 

"  You  know  very  well,  Miss  Norton,  that  I  am 
investigating  the  subject  of  Spiritualism ;  and  I 
was  asking  Miss  Emma  Liz  if  she  could  recom- 
mend a  trustworthy  medium,  —  one  that  money 
could  not  influence ;  and  judge  of  my  surprise 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  193 

when  she  told  me  I  need  not  go  out  of  the  house 
I  was  in,  and  referred  me  to  —  you." 

"  To  me  !  She  sent  you  to  me  ?  "  she  exclaimed, 
and  blushed  deeply,  but  laughed,  and  said,  "  What 
do  you  suppose  she  meant?" 

"  Tell  us  all  about  it,"  said  Thurston  ;  "  give  us 
the  truth." 

"  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  tell,"  she  returned. 
"The  Emma  Liz  was  very  unhappy  because  —  but 
it  does  not  concern  us  why  —  and  she  came  to  me 
to  ask  if  I  had  any  faith  in  mediums.  I  found  she 
had  at  last  taken  the  fever,  and  was  going  to  see 
one.  She  spoke  of  Mrs.  Temple,  and  I  thought  I 
knew  as  much  of  her  affairs  as  Mrs.  Temple,  and 
I  advised  her  to  come  to  me.  I  did  not  want  Conso- 
lation to  get  hold  of  her  purse  ;  I  told  her  to  come  to 
me  and  save  her  money.  She  came,  and  I  went 
into  a  trance  for  her." 

Thurston  burst  into  a  loud  laugh,  but  she  went 
on  without  a  smile  :  — 

"That  morning  I  had  gone  quite  early  to  the 
farmhouse  for  Mrs.  Moore,  and  while  there  I  took 
up  the  paper  of  the  evening  before.  In  looking  it 
over,  I  saw  that  something  had  been  cut  out;  it 
was  in  the  column  that  advertised  mediums.  When 
I  went  in,  I  saw  the  Emma  Liz  give  a  letter  to  the 
butcher's  boy,  and  I  heard  her  say,  '  Don't  forget 
to  mail  this,  this  morning.'  When  I  came  back, 


194  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

the  same  boy  was  at  the  door  here ;  I  called  him, 
and  said, '  That  letter  Miss  Emma  Lizzie  gave  you, 
I  will  take ;  I  am  going  to  the  post-office  this  morn- 
ing, and  you  may  forget  it.'  I  suppose  he  thought 
she  had  asked  me  to  take  it.  It  was  directed  to 
'  Madam  Imogene  Thayer.'  I  found  Mrs.  Moore's 
evening  paper,  and  there  in  the  medium's  column, 
where  the  piece  was  cut  out  in  the  paper  at  the 
farmhouse,  was  Madam  Imogene's  advertisement. 
For  one  dollar  and  a  lock  of  your  hair  she  would 
reveal  the  future." 

"  And  the  Emma  Liz,  who  would  not  look  at  the 
works  of  Mandy  the  Honest,  Mandy  the  Just, 
had  been  taken  in  by  an  advertisement ! "  cried 
Thurston. 

"  I  did  not  mail  the  letter,"  continued  Miss 
Norton.  "  When  I  went  into  the  trance,  I  remem- 
bered that  when  walking  in  the  churchyard  here, 
I  had  seen  the  names  '  Emeline,'  and  '  Elizabeth 
Holt.'  They  died  in  the  same  year,  and  it  must 
have  been  about  the  time  the  Emma  Liz  was  born. 
In  the  same  enclosure  I  saw  the  name  of  '  Eben 
Holt,'  —  surely  her  uncle.  This  proved  that  they 
were  of  the  same  family.  What  more  natural  than 
to  suppose  that  the  Emma  Liz  was  named  for  her 
two  aunts,  who  died  about  the  time  she  was  born ; 
and  what  more  natural,  if  you  were  going  into  a 
trance,  than  to  bring  them  to  call  upon  their  name- 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  195 

sake.  They  came  —  and  advised  her  through  me 
not  to  trust  any  medium  but  me.  She  was  con- 
vinced beyond  a  doubt  that  I  was  a  true  medium. 
She  even  thrust  a  pin  into  my  wrist,  to  see  if  I  had 
any  idea  of  humbugging." 

"  The  brute  ! "  said  Thurston. 

"  No,  she  is  not;  she  was  only  in  earnest,  and 
was  sorry  enough  to  do  it,  I  have  no  doubt.  She 
was  ready  to  believe  anything  I  told  her ;  and  the 
next  day  I  gave  her  the  letter,  and  confessed  the 
whole  truth.  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  her 
face  !  Her  trouble  was  over,  for  she  was  friends 
again  with  Joe ;  but  she  said  I  had  deceived  her. 
She  was  angry  at  first,  and  said,  '  You  'd  better  set 
up  as  a  medium.'  She  felt  that  she  ought  to  be 
very  indignant ;  but  I  told  her  I  had  been  a  good 
and  cheap  fortune-teller.  I  had  told  her  to  trust 
me,  and  everything  would  come  out  all  right ;  and  it 
had.  She  knew  I  did  n't  want  her  to  waste  her  time 
and  money  on  people  who  could  help  her  less  than 
I  could.  At  first  she  did  not  want  me  to  tell  any- 
body ;  but  she  could  not  help  telling  her  aunt,  and 
finally  old  Miss  Kimball,  who  said  I  was  a  terrible 
medium,  only  I  was  too  proud  to  own  it." 

All  this  amused  Thurston  very  much,  but  did 
not  suggest  to  me  any  way  to  help  the  Emma  Liz 
get  rid  of  Consolation  Temple. 


A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

WE  still  continued  our  lessons  in  practical 
Phrenology,  but  I  fear,  in  trying  to  make 
the  most  of  the  short  time  the  professor  could  stay 
with  us,  I  over-studied ;  for  I  began  to  think  I 
could  settle  every  little  difficulty  that  presented  it- 
self, if  I  could  only  get  hold  of  the  right  heads  to 
treat. 

If  a  stranger  came,  although  he  only  stayed  to 
dinner,  instead  of  passing  a  few  pleasant  hours 
with  him,  I  began  to  study  him  in  reference  to 
treating  his  weaknesses.  One  day  a  strong  desire 
took  possession  of  me  to  see  what  I  could  do  for 
Paul  St.  Clair ;  but  he  was  a  mysterious  visitor.  I 
never  saw  him  at  table,  and  seldom  in  the  house. 
I  asked  Thurston  what  had  become  of  him,  and  he 
said,  "  Oh,  he  is  round  here  somewhere,  I  suppose," 
—  just  as  if  he  had  been  a  house-dog,  or  a  cat,  in- 
stead of  a  visitor.  Much  to  my  surprise,  that 
same  day  he  was  at  dinner,  and  seated  beside 
me. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  197 

The  lady  had  arrived  whom  Thurston  called  St. 
Cecilia,  and  she  seemed  almost  in  ecstasy  to  meet 
the  Professor  and  his  wife.  I  asked  Mr.  St.  Clair 
if  he  had  heard  we  were  studying  practical  Phren- 
ology, and  he  said  he  had  heard  about  it.  I  was 
surprised  that  he  seemed  aware  of  everything  that 
went  on  in  the  house,  for  I  saw  him  but  seldom. 
I  hoped  he  would  express  a  little  interest  in  the 
study,  and  that  Mrs.  Moore  would  invite  him  to 
join  the  class ;  but  he  seemed  quite  indifferent  to 
the  Professor  and  the  science.  I  wondered  where 
he  spent  his  time,  and  asked  him  if  we  should  not 
see  him  that  evening,  and  he  replied,  "  Possibly." 

"I  have  an  idea  that  you  might  gain  —  some 
benefit,"  I  was  about  to  say,  but  there  was  such  an 
amused  expression  in  his  keen  eyes  that  I  feebly 
substituted  the  word,  "satisfaction." 

He  looked  more  amused,  and  said  it  was  not  a 
bad  idea.  I  referred  no  more  to  the  subject,  but 
was  not  surprised  when  we  met  for  our  evening 
lesson  that  he  was  not  present. 

"  Our  lesson  must  be  short  to-night,"  said 
Thurston  ;  "  because  we  want  time  enough  after  it 
to  listen  to  St.  Cecilia." 

"  Must  we  own,  here,  that  there  is  such  a  thing 
as  time  ?  "  sighed  Cecilia,  in  a  tone  so  soft  that  it 
would  have  forced  the  cooing  dove  to  put  herself 
under  voice-culture. 


198  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  There  is  no  such  thing  as  time  for  you  and 
me,"  said  Thurston;  "but  Mr.  Hardy  is  still 
bound  to  the  material  world,  and  has  to  go  to  bed 
early.  He  is  trying  to  get  up  his  strength  to  dance 
at  a  masquerade  party  we  are  to  have  in  a  few 
days." 

"  Perhaps  we  had  better  postpone  the  lesson  to- 
night," said  the  Professor. 

"  That  would  be  cruel,  indeed,"  said  St.  Cecilia. 
"  I  want  you  to  take  my  poor  head  and  give  a  les- 
son upon  it.  It  will  do  just  as  well  for  the  class  as 
anything,  and  I  need  to  be  guided.  There  are 
natures,  and  feminine  natures  too,  that  rely  always 
upon  themselves ;  but  I  am  not  one  of  them.  I 
am  always  leaning  upon  some  nature  stronger 
than  mine.  I  should  like  to  learn  to  lean  upon 
myself.  Since  the  first  day  I  heard  of  Professor 
Blossom,  I  have  felt  that  he  could  help  me  ;  and  I 
should  have  been  to  him  before  this,  but  I  am 
poor.  The  little  minstrel "  —  she  must  have 
weighed  a  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  —  "  is  often 
called  to  fine  houses;  but,  like  little  Tommy 
Tucker,  she  sings  only  for  her  supper,  and  I  have 
never  heard  that  the  Professor  takes  charity 
patients." 

Thurston  and  Miss  Norton  declared  that  noth- 
ing could  be  more  profitable  than  a  study  of  St. 
Cecilia's  faculties  ;  and  in  a  moment  the  heavy  coils 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  199 

of  hair  fell  like  a  dark  mantle,  and  covered  the 
shapely  shoulders  of  the  "  little  minstrel."  She 
took  a  low  seat  at  the  feet  of  the  Professor,  and  as  I 
looked  from  her  fresh  face,  her  dark  sensuous  eyes, 
and  full  red  lips,  to  the  bald  pate  and  deep  eyes  of 
the  Professor,  and  saw  his  thin  fingers  resting  on 
the  soft  hair  with  the  same  scientific  coolness  that 
they  usually  rested  on  the  plaster  heads,  I  thought 
they  would  make  a  very  good  picture  of  Death 
and  The  Flesh. 

"  Do  not  hesitate,"  she  said,  raising  her  eyes 
and  looking  into  his  sockets,  —  "  do  not  hesitate 
to  tell  me  the  truth." 

"  Phrenology  never  lies,"  he  returned.  "  If  I 
do  not  tell  you  the  truth,  it  is  because  I  do  not 
read  aright." 

We  gathered  closely  about  them,  and  the  lesson 
began.  Thurston  and  Mrs.  Moore,  who  knew  St. 
Cecilia  well,  were  astonished  at  the  Professor's 
success  in  delineating  her  character  from  the  study 
of  her  head :  and  also  at  the  amiability  of  "  the 
minstrel "  after  some  of  his  severe  comments.  He 
told  her  that  her  conscientiousness  was  naturally 
wofully  small,  and  had  never  been  cultivated  in 
the  smallest  degree. 

"  That  must  be  true,"  she  murmured  ;  "  for  people 
say  I  do  the  most  atrocious  things,  and  then  sleep 
as  calmly  as  an  infant." 


200  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  You  tell  lies,"  said  the  Professor,  calmly. 

"Without  number,"  she  returned  sweetly. 

"  Your  benevolence  is  too  large  for  you  ever  to 
do  any  direct  harm." 

"  I  am  so  glad,"  she  murmured,  still  gazing  into 
his  sockets. 

The  Professor  wanted  us  to  observe  how  large 
her  language  was  ;  and  each,  with  a  small  labelled 
head  in  hand,  bent  over  her,  while  she  gazed  at 
the  ceiling  in  order  to  show  off  that  faculty. 

"  Positively  no  destructiveness,"  said  the  Pro- 
fessor, feeling  behind  her  ear. 

"You  are  looking  in  the  wrong  place,"  said 
Thurston.  "  Look  in  her  eyes." 

"  Positively  none,"  said  the  Professor  unmoved, 
"  and  very  little  combativeness.  Time  and  tune, 
large ;  ideality,  comparison,  sublimity,  all  large. 
This  might  be  the  head  of  a  poet  or  a  musician." 

"  Both,"  cried  Thurston. 

"  Nature  has  labelled  every  child  she  has  made, 
as  plainly  as  the  druggist  labels  his  perfumes  and 
his  poisons.  The  practical  Phrenologist  can  mould 
a  demon  into  a  seraph  ;  or  could  he  catch  an  angel 
in  the  street,  he  could  by  skillful  manipulation 
change  him  into  a  fiend,"  continued  the  Professor. 

"  How  interesting  !  how  interesting !  "  cried  St. 
Cecilia,  clasping  her  hands.  "  How  much  would 
it  cost  to  make  a  seraph  of  me?  Oh,  no,  that 


A  Fearless  Investigator,  201 

would  not  do  !  How  should  I  earn  my  poor  little 
crusts? " 

"  What  do  you  do  now  ?  "  asked  the  Professor. 

"  I  am  an  inspirational  singer;  and  Mrs.  Temple 
says  it  is  because  I  am  so  near  the  natural  plane, 
that  minstrels  come  to  me.  I  told  her  at  first  I 
made  up  songs  without  any  help  from  anywhere. 
Sometimes  I  could  sing  long  songs  that  I  had 
never  heard  or  thought  of;  and  somebody  told  me 
to  say  I  was  inspired,  and  I  did,  —  and  I  think  I 
have  done  better  since.  I  have  never  learned  to 
do  anything  but  sing.  I  am  sure,  dear  Professor 
Blossom,  I  had  better  remain  as  I  am."  She 
looked  again,  with  sweet  languor,  into  the  scien- 
tific sockets. 

"  As  you  see  fit,"  he  said  ;  "but  if  you  ever  tire 
of  yourself,  or  wish  to  change  even  your  identity, 
remember  Professor  Blossom." 

"  Have  you  no  faith  in  the  stars  ?  "  she  inquired 
softly.  "  Did  not  my  stars  make  me  what  I  am  ?  " 

"  What  do  I  care,"  he  said,  in  the  same  unmoved 
manner,  "what  the  stars  make  me?  It  may  be 
that  at  the  hour  of  my  birth  bloody  Mars  was  in 
the  ascendency ;  must  I  for  that  cause  be  a  warrior, 
or  delight  only  in  military  displays,  or  read  only 
the  lives  of  great  generals,  if  I  happen  to  live  in  a 
peaceful  country  ?  Not  at  all.  Powerful  as  is  the 
influence  of  the  planets  on  our  unconscious  birth- 


202  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

hour,  I  hold  it  all  at  the  end  of  my  fingers.  Give 
me  a  boy  and  a  girl,  with  Mars  for  their  birth-star, 
and  I  will  agree  to  make  a  Quakeress  of  one,  and 
a  tender  of  sheep  of  the  other." 

"  How  wonderful !  How  wonderful !  "  sighed 
St.  Cecilia.  "  Sometimes  I  sing  war-songs  ;  but  I 
am  sure  Mars  was  not  my  star." 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  the  Professor ;  "  I  should  say 
Mars  had  gone  down,  and  Venus  was  well  up,  at 
your  birth." 

"  Yes,"  she  murmured,  "  I  am  sure  Venus  was 
my  star ;  most  of  my  songs  are  of  love." 

"  Do  let 's  put  away  the  traps  and  have  a  little 
music,"  Mrs.  Blossom  exclaimed.  "  I  get  so  sick 
of  talking  bumps,  and  seeing  these  old  plaster 
heads  round.  Sometimes  when  it  is  late  after  a 
class  has  gone,  I  go  into  the  Professor's  study, 
and  they  look  like  the  heads  of  poor  little 
ghosts." 

Thurston  led  St.  Cecilia  to  the  piano  ;  and  with 
her  eyes  upturned,  her  hair  thrown  back  from  her 
low  brow  and  still  flowing  in  dark  waves  to  her 
feet,  she  began  a  soft  prelude. 

When  Mrs.  Blossom  had  put  the  last  head  into 
the  bag,  and  had  taken  a  seat  near  the  piano,  the 
prelude  ran  into  a  monotonous  but  musical  accom- 
paniment, and  the  saint  began  to  chant.  She  de- 
scribed in  rather  romantic  phraseology  a  dark  old 


A  Fearless  Investigator,  203 

castle  of  feudal  times ;  shadows,  shadows,  every- 
where, represented  by  a  great  deal  of  bass.  Little 
rays  from  the  crescent  moon  came  to  us  through 
the  medium  of  the  treble  clef. 

We  were  then  told  to  listen  to  the  approaching 
tramp  of  the  horse  that  bears  the  bacchanalian 
lover  as  he  passes  tfee  castle  of  his  lady  on  the  way 
to  his  midnight  revelry.  Suddenly,  as  the  dark 
outline  of  the  castle  strikes  his  eye,  he  breaks  the 
gallop  of  the  well-trained  steed  into  steps  so  small 
and  soft  that  the  earth  scarce  feels  the  weight  of 
horse  and  rider;  and  the  lover  sings  a  song  in 
which  he  commends  his  lady-love  to  the  care  of 
Dian,  while  he  goes  to  quaff  the  wine  that  mad- 
dens. This  serenade  was  very  good  and  well 
sung,  and  the  bold  horseman,  after  singing  it, 
should  have  gone  on  about  his  business ;  but  he 
lingered  to  see  if  his  voice  made  any  impression 
upon  the  cold  castle,  and  then  follows  a  vow  that 
he  will  not  abandon  the  spot  until  Phoebus  rises. 
This  enrages  Dian,  in  whose  care  he  has  declared 
he  would  leave  his  white-souled  love,  and  she  de- 
scends and  smites  him  and  his  steed ;  and  when 
Phrebus  rises,  he  sees  the  bacchanalian  beside  the 
well-trained  steed  that  will  never  prance  again. 

I  know  I  must  have  been  very  much  interested 
in  the  music,  for  this  unfortunate  serenader  was 
the  first  person  for  several  days  whom  I  had  not 


204  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

wanted  to  bring  under  the  treatment  of  practical 
Phrenology. 

St.  Cecilia  paid  no  attention  to  applause  or  com- 
ments ;  but,  after  resting  a  moment,  struck  some 
frightful  discords,  and  in  a  hurried  recitative  in- 
formed us  that  the  sun  of  a  summer's  day  was 
disappearing,  and  at  the  foo*  of  a  green  hill  a 
rejected  lover  stood.  Then,  suddenly,  to  a  savage 
air,  unlike  any  I  had  ever  heard,  she  sang  of  his 
wrathful  fury  against  the  false  maid  in  several 
verses  which  I  cannot  remember  well  enough  to 
do  the  author  justice. 

This  song  pleased  Miss  Norton  so  much  that 
she  begged  to  have  it  repeated ;  but  the  improvis- 
atrice,  without  heeding  the  request,  began  to  sing 
of  the  sea. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  give  her  words ;  but  on 
the  white  shore  sat  the  old  mer-witch  who  gave,  or 
sold,  love-potions  to  mortal  maids.  The  sad 
Clotilde,  the  fisherman's  daughter,  who  loves  the 
bold  man  who  lights  the  great  lamp  at  the  light- 
house which  glows  across  the  water,  comes  and 
asks  for  help.  She  tells  the  old  mer-witch  that  all 
she  wants  is  opportunity ;  that  the  bold  man  will 
not  leave  his  lamp,  and  she  cannot  go  to  the  light- 
house. After  much  singing  from  the  sad  Clotilde, 
the  mer-witch  tells  her  there  is  a  way,  but  she  fears 
the  fisherman's  daughter  will  not  fancy  it.  The 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  205 

little  maid  says  she  is  ready  even  for  death ;  yet 
when  she  learns  she  must  become  a  mermaid,  and 
sing  in  all  sorts  of  weather  near  the  lighthouse,  her 
courage  fails,  and  she  is  on  the  point  of  returning 
to  her  cot,  when  the  old  witch  tells  her  that  the 
bold  man,  whom  she  thinks  is  faithful  only  to  his 
lamp,  has  another  love.  This  decides  her,  and  she 
is  about  to  sacrifice  her  little  white  feet  for  the 
more  useful  appendage  of  the  maiden  of  the  deep, 
when  she  learns  that  with  her  feet  goes  her  im- 
mortal soul.  She  hesitates  but  a  moment,  then 
passionately  cries  that  without  the  bold  lamplighter 
her  immortal  soul  would  be  a  burden,  and  she  is 
quickly  transformed  into  a  beautiful  mermaid. 
While  she  is  swimming  towards  the  lighthouse, 
she  feels  a  strange  coldness  in  her  heart,  and  asks 
the  old  mer-witch  what  it  means.  "  It  is  but  the 
blood  of  the  mermaid,"  explains  the  witch.  "  It  is 
cold ;  but  after  awhile  you  will  not  notice  it,"  — 
and  she  takes  her  down  far  under  the  water,  where 
the  old  witch's  son,  a  horrible  merman,  dwells,  who 
sent  his  old  mother  to  bring  Clotilde  to  him.  He 
gives  his  bride  a  beautiful  necklace  of  pearls,  and 
she  is  slowly  forgetting  the  bold  man  at  the  light- 
house, when  a  little  mermaid  asks  her  if  she  has 
ever  heard  the  big  man,  who  lights  the  great  lamp, 
sing  about  Clotilde.  "  And  who  is  Clotilde  ?  "  she 
asks,  and  the  mermaid  takes  her  to  the  point  of 


206  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

land  where  every  day  the  bold  man  sits.  When 
she  sees  him  she  feels  a  slight  stir  in  her  breast, 
and  leaves  the  little  mermaid  and  swims  very  near 
the  shore.  The  bold  man  sees  her,  and  she  goes 
under  the  water  immediately.  But  he  knows  her 
face,  and  thinks  he  has  seen  her  ghost;  and  he 
calls  to  her  to  come  to  him,  dead  or  alive.  Every 
night  she  haunts  the  lighthouse,  until  one  night 
when  the  moon  is  bright  the  bold  man  sees  her 
and  jumps  into  the  water ;  but  Clotilde  the  mer- 
maid feels  only  a  faint  remembrance  of  the  love  of 
Clotilde  the  fishermaid,  and  she  sees  him  sink  with- 
out a  pang  in  her  cold  heart,  and  returns  to  the 
merman  beneath  the  wave. 

The  music  of  this  was  very  good,  and  everybody, 
even  Mrs.  Moore,  applauded  warmly,  and  seemed 
sorry  to  have  St.  Cecilia  stop  ;  but  a  great  deal  of 
the  last  song,  in  which  the  bold  man  leaps  into  the 
dashing  waves,  must  have  been  a  strain  upon  the 
throat  of  the  fair  singer,  and  although  the  Profes- 
sor said  he  could  listen  until  morning  without 
fatigue,  we  all  thought  she  needed  rest. 

She  arose  smiling,  and  said,  "  I  could  n't  sing 
any  more,  however  much  you  might  desire  it." 

"  Do  you  mean  you  have  sung  all  you  know  ?  " 
asked  Mrs.  Blossom. 

"  No ;  but  the  inspiration  has  parsed,"  she  said. 
"  I  do  not  remember  that  I  ever  sung  one  of  those 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  207 

before.  Did  any  one  of  you  ever  hear  them  any- 
where ?  " 

No  one  had  ever  heard  a  note  of  them. 

"  No  more  have  I,"  she  said,  taking  a  low  seat 
beside  Maria  Williams,  who  offered  to  fasten  up 
her  hair  for  her,  —  an  offer  which  was  not  appre- 
ciated. 

The  last  song  haunted  me.  The  cold-blooded 
mermaid,  carelessly  riding  over  the  wave  where 
the  loving  bold  man  had  gone  down  forever,  would 
not  leave  my  fancy ;  and  I  could  only  defend  my 
imagination  by  asking  the  Professor  if  he  believed 
such  a  creature  could  be  reached  by  practical 
Phrenology.  He  said  that  while  there  remained 
enough  real  heads  to  treat,  we  had  better  not  spend 
our  time  speculating  as  to  what  might  be  done 
with  imaginary  ones. 

I  wanted  to  ask  if  this  was  intended  as  a  rebuke, 
but  some  one  came  and  said  Aunt  Marthy  wanted 
to  see  Mrs.  Moore  immediately ;  and  I  thought  of 
the  Emma  Liz  and  her  trouble,  which  I  had  for- 
gotten while  listening  to  the  rhapsodies  of  St. 
Cecilia. 


208  A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LATE  in  the  evening  I  saw  Mr.  St.  Clair,  and 
asked  him  to  come  to  my  room  for  a  chat 
when  he  could  spare  the  time. 

"  You  are  now  on  your  way  to  bed,"  he  said  ;  "  I 
shall  keep  you  up."  But  he  yielded  to  a  second 
request,  and  said  as  he  sat  down,  "  This  is  a  better 
plan  than  to  see  you  in  the  class.  What  do  you 
want  to 'say  to  me  ?  " 

I  had  not  told  him  that  I  wished  to  say  anything, 
and  felt  a  little  uncomfortable  at  the  question. 
His  smiling  eyes  seemed  to  read  my  thoughts  ;  per- 
haps that  is  the  reason  I  said  frankly, — 

"  I  have  been  thinking  a  great  deal  about  you  in 
the  last  few  days,  in  connection  with  practical 
Phrenology.  If  you  have  never  looked  into  Pro- 
fessor Blossom's  theory,  the  idea  may  strike  you  as 
absurd ;  but  come  into  the  class  to-morrow,  and 
judge  for  yourself." 

"  I  have  my  own  theory,"  he  said ;  "  I  am  doing 
very  well.  I  have  the  experience  of  thousands  of 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  209 

misers  to  guide  me.  I  am  working  in  the  only 
way  that  will  bring  success.  Will  you  kindly  take 
these?"  and  he  handed  me  several  gold  pieces. 
"There,"  he  said,  as  I  pocketed  them  hastily, 
"the  pang  was  so  slight,  I  can  almost  say  with 
truth  it  was  nothing." 

"  But  what  is  your  objection  to  coming  into  the 
class  ?  You  surely  do  not  dislike  the  Professor?  " 

"  My  dear  young  man,  I  don't  dislike  anybody ; 
and  as  nearly  as  I  can  find  out,  the  Professor's 
intentions  are  all  good.  I  wish  I  could  say  as 
much  for  Mrs.  Temple." 

"  Then  you  doubt  her  intentions  ? " 

"  You  know  her  intentions  in  regard  to  your 
friend  Salem,"  he  said  calmly.  "  Pride  is  a  very 
good  thing  if  you  can't  get  anything  better  to 
lean  upon ;  but  if  he  had  had  something  better, 
he  would  have  saved  the  Emma  Liz  a  great  deal  of 
anxiety." 

I  believed  he  had  a  knowledge  of  the  whole 
affair,  but  said  nothing.  He  sat  there  beside  me, 
laughing  gently,  and  I  thought  there  was  little  that 
he  did  not  know. 

"  Thurston  is  coming,"  he  said  suddenly.  "  I 
cannot  tell  you  now  what  I  really  came  in  for : 
another  time." 

"  Don't  go,"  I  urged ;  "  I  don't  hear  anybody." 
But  as  I  spoke,  Thurston  knocked  at  the  door. 

M 


2io  A  Fearless  Investigator, 

"  Hello,  you  here?  "  he  exclaimed,  when  he  saw 
Mr.  St.  Clair.  "You  have  n't  offered  me  a  dollar 
for  a  month." 

"  The  last  I  gave  you  you  spent  recklessly,"  said 
the  old  gentleman.  "  I  told  you  to  give  it  to  your 
mother;  but  here,  take  a  piece,"  and  he  handed 
him  a  bit  of  silver. 

'•  Oh,  let  me  help  you  more  than  that,"  begged 
Thurston ;  "  can't  you  make  it  ten  dollars  ?  " 

This  pleasantry  appeared  to  delight  the  old  gen- 
tleman. He  said  that  he  and  Thurston  were  a 
mutual  benefit  society,  and  handed  me  another 
gold  piece;  which  made  Thurston  writhe  in  his 
chair,  as  if  the  sight  of  the  gold  going  into  my 
pocket  instead  of  his  own  caused  him  great  anguish. 
This  did  not  appear  to  offend  the  old  gentleman  in 
the  least;  he  laughed  heartily,  and  arose  to  go, 
saying,  "  I  know  that  you  came  to  tell  Mr.  Hardy 
something,  Thurston;  and  I  will  leave  you  to 
embroider  your  little  story,  as  you  might  not  be 
able  to  do  if  I  stayed." 

"  Come,  now,"  said  Thurston,  "  I  am  pretty 
truthful.  Where  were  you  yesterday?  I  wanted 
to  ask  your  advice  about  something,  and  you  were 
nowhere'to  be  found.  Did  you  go  to  Jupiter  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Sit  down  and  tell  us  about  it ;  Mr.  Hardy 
probably  never  met  anybody  who  has  seen  Jupiter." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  211 

I  had  become  accustomed  to  so  many  of  Mr.  St. 
Clair's  peculiarities,  that  I  no  longer  looked  upon 
him  as  a  lunatic,  but  as  a  kind,  imaginative  old 
gentleman  who  enjoyed  seeing  how  many  of  his 
fancies  other  people  would  accept ;  but  now  I 
thought  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  his  mental 
state. 

He  looked  at  me,  and  as  usual  seemed  to  read 
my  thoughts  correctly,  for  he  said,  "  Mr.  Hardy 
must  have  learned  by  this  time,  Thurston,  that  I 
live  in  the  imagination  a  good  part  of  the  time, 
and  that  will  prevent  any  feeling  of  alarm  when  I 
say  I  went  yesterday  to  Jupiter." 

If  this  man  was  a  lunatic,  he  certainly  was  a 
clever  one,  for  I  immediately  returned  to  my  old 
idea  of  him. 

"  If  you  spent  a  whole  day  in  Jupiter,  you  cer- 
tainly ought  to  be  able  to  tell  us  something  about 
it,"  said  Thurston. 

"  I  can  tell  you  something  about  it,  perhaps ; 
but  why  not  go  see  for  yourself?  You  know  what 
I  have  told  you  often,  often,  my  boy  !  " 

"  Don't  mention  that,"  said  Thurston,  with  a 
scowl ;  "  fly  low,  to-night,  my  friend,  or  you  will 
frighten  Mr.  Hardy." 

i;  I  will  go  no  higher  than  Jupiter,"  he  returned, 
with  his  amiable  laugh.  "  How  much  do  you  know 
about  Jupiter?" 


212  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  Fourteen  or  forty  thousand  times  larger  than 
our  poor  little  planet,  as  Consolation  calls  our 
dwelling-place,"  said  Thurston.  "  Its  inhabitants 
are  fifteen  feet  high,  as  some  old  German  has  told 
us.  That 's  all  I  know  about  it." 

"  It  is  like  an  immense  garden  of  Eden,"  said 
the  old  gentleman.  "  There  are  no  desert  places 
there.  The  inhabitants  are  any  size  they  please  to 
make  themselves ;  for  the  art  of  materialization, 
which  with  us  is  in  its  infancy,  is  with  the  dwellers 
of  Jupiter  an  art  perfected.  Let  me  make  this 
plain  to  you.  I  found  upon  studying  the  people 
there  that  they  possess  the  power  of  giving  any 
idea  that  came  to  them  a  material  form.  I  asked 
an  inhabitant  if  the  people  there  ever  fought  with 
each  other  as  they  do  sometimes  upon  the  earth  ; 
if  one  man  was  ever  known  to  strike  another. 
'You  are  a  very  small  man,'  I  said,  'and  you  seem 
to  have  a  great  deal  of  gold  about  you,'  for  he  had 
an  enormous  silk  purse  filled  with  gold  coin  hung 
upon  his  arm. 

"  '  It  is  a  mere  courtesy,'  he  said,  '  this  bag  of 
gold.  It  is  a  custom  here  as  soon  as  we  meet  a 
stranger  and  read  in  his  mind  what  he  cares  for 
most,  to  materialize  the  thought  and  bear  it  with 
us  until  we  part  company.' 

"  I  felt  as  if  I  had  been  rebuked  by  an  angel ; 
but  I  said,  '  Have  you  no  fear  of  being  robbed  ?  ' 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  213 

"  '  By  whom  ?  '  he  asked  ;  '  by  another  who  could 
make  gold  as  fast  as  I  ?  Let  us  suppose  for  a 
moment  that  such  a  thing  as  a  robber  could  come 
to  our  planet,  —  a  supposition  which  could  only 
be  entertained  for  the  sake  of  argument.  But  let 
us  suppose  this  robber  came  to  me  with  the  idea 
of  doing  me  harm  ;  he  must  be  a  wandering  spirit, 
either  from  the  Earth,  Venus,  or  Mercury,  —  cer- 
tainly from  one  of  the  inferior  planets.  In  those 
planets  the  art  of  materialization  is  almost  unknown. 
Let  us  imagine  that  he  approaches  me  to  strike. 
With  no  thought  of  harm  to  him,  but  to  teach  him 
that  he  cannot  hurt  me,  I  take  for  an  instant  the 
idea  of  a  giant,  —  a  physical  giant.  I  materialize 
that  idea  in  this  way,  —  and,  lo  !  as  he  spoke,  he 
stood  before  me,  a  creature  as  tall  as  the  German 
astronomer  Wolf  makes  the  inhabitants  of  Jupiter; 
and  I  could  easily  see  that  if  a  robber  did  not 
understand  the  same  art,  he  must  have  been  very 
much  astonished ;  and  if  he  could  do  the  same 
thing,  they  both  could  have  kept  on  increasing  in 
bulk  until  one  was  capable  of  conceiving  a  larger 
idea  than  the  other,  which  brought  it  down  after 
all  to  a  mental  combat.' 

"  I  had  become  so  much  interested,  that  for  the 
first  moment  since  I  met  him  I  had  forgotten  the 
big  purse  of  gold,  and  had  taken  my  eyes  from  it. 
My  soul  grew  lighter,  and  I  begged  him  to  tell  me 


214  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

more.  He  kindly  reduced  himself  to  my  height, 
for  my  convenience,  and  proposed  that  we  should 
take  a  walk  together,  as  in  that  way  we  could  see 
many  things  that  I  might  like  to  know  about.  The 
purse  of  gold  had  disappeared.  We  passed  many 
people,  and  not  one  of  them  looked  upon  us  with 
curiosity,  nor  yet  with  indifference. 

"'What  is  it  all  these  people  say  to  me?'  I 
asked ;  for  it  sounded  like  a  strain  of  music,  and 
yet  as  if  they  spoke  to  me.  He  told  me  they  said, 
'God  bless  the  Earth,'  for  they  knew  I  had  come 
from  there.  '  That 's  very  polite  of  them,'  I  admit- 
ted. '  I  suppose  they  despise  the  Earth,  she  is  so 
small.'  And  I  thought  of  an  old  man,  I  knew  who 
lived  in  a  little  village  in  France,  who  had  never 
left  his  native  place,  but  when  a  neighbor  offered 
to  pay  his  expenses  if  he  would  go  to  see  the  city, 
said,  '  I  was  born  in  this  place,  and  I  mean  to  die 
here;  it's  big  enough  for  me.'  What  would  he 
have  said  if  he  had  known  that  any  one  lived  who 
could  despise  the  Earth  because  she  is  so  small! 

"  I  was  on  the  point  of  telling  this  to  my  com- 
panion, but  suddenly  I  felt  as  if  the  old  Frenchman 
was  a  countryman  of  mine,  and  I  could  not  bear 
the  idea  of  making  fun  of  him  to  the  dweller  of  a 
larger  planet. 

"  '  How  do  they  all  know  that  I  am  from  the 
Earth  ? '  I  asked.  '  I  should  not  know  that  they 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  215 

were  from  another  planet  if  I  met  them  upon  the 
Earth.'  He  said  that  when  they  knew  I  was  com- 
ing, they  assumed  the  appearance  of  the  place 
from  which  I  came. 

"  '  Out  of  compliment  to  my  benighted  condition, 
I  suppose,'  said  I  ;  '  the  same  as  you  carried  the 
gold.' 

"  '  Perhaps  not  out  of  compliment,'  he  said,  '  but 
out  of  consideration  to  the  prejudices  of  the  people 
that  come  from  the  semi-civilized  parts  of  the 
Earth.' 

"'Semi-civilized!'  I  exclaimed,  and  was  about 
to  mention  that  I  came  from  Boston,  but  was  glad 
I  did  not  when  he  said,  — 

" '  The  most  civilized  parts  of  your  planet,  I  fear, 
are  but  semi-civilized.  I  have  been  told  that  men, 
and  women  too,  accumulate  gold  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  holding  it ;  and  that  they  have  strong 
places  built  for  it  for  fear  that  it  will  be  taken 
from  them.' 

"  '  Certainly,'  I  admitted. 

" '  And  I  have  been  told,'  he  continued,  '  that  the 
little  children  of  the  Earth  are  fond  of  sweet-tasting 
things,  and  that  people  put  things  behind  glass 
windows  where  children  can  see  them,  but  cannot 
take  them.' 

" '  That  is  only  people  who  sell,'  I  explained  ; 
'anybody  can  buy  who  has  money.  Don't  you 
sell  anything  in  Jupiter  ?  ' 


216  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  He  told  me  there  was  no  such  word  as  'sell,' 
or  its  equivalent,  in  any  language  in  Jupiter  that 
he  had  ever  met;  but  he  had  been  told  that  it  was 
in  all  languages  used  on  the  smaller  planets.  He 
said  that  he  had  also  been  told  that  there  were 
places  of  worship,  into  which  they  will  not  permit 
people  who  have  not  accumulated  gold  to  enter. 

"  '  That  is  not  true  ! '  I  cried.  He  was  rejoiced 
to  hear  it,  and  said,  '  even  hell  can  be  misrepre- 
sented.' I  acknowledged  that  we  had  very  expen- 
sive churches  built  by  the  rich,  where  the  poor 
could  not  afford  to  go.  But  if  they  could  pay, 
they  could  go  ;  they  were  not  shut  out. 

"'But,'  he  said  persistently,  '  the  ones  who  have 
not  accumulated  gold,  can  they  go  just  as  well  as 
the  ones  who  have  ?  ' 

" '  Why,  they  don't  want  to  go,'  I  said ;  '  they 
have  to  sit  in  poorer  places,  and  they  cannot  wear 
fine  clothes;  I  never  have  thought  much  about  it, 
but  I  don't  think  they  want  to  go.' 

"'Then  you  do  admit,'  he  said,  'that  there  is 
actually  a  distinction  made,  even  in  places  of  wor- 
ship, between  those  who  have  accumulated  gold 
and  those  who  have  not !  But  you  are  not  speak- 
ing of  the  most  civilized  parts  of  the  planet  when 
you  admit  this  ? ' 

"  I  was  obliged  to  acknowledge  that  the  more 
civilized  the  greater  the  distinction. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  217 

"  '  If  that  be  true,'  he  said,  '  I  must  sincerely  beg 
your  pardon  for  the  abhorrence  I  felt  for  you  when 
we  first  met,  and  I  saw  your  love  for  gold.  How 
could  I,  born  in  a  place  where  no  such  terrible 
passion  was  ever  felt  in  the  breast  of  one  of  its 
dwellers,  —  how  could  I  be  able  to  judge  you  ? 
But  I  have  been  deceived;  I  have  been  told  that 
the  people  of  the  Earth  believe  in  the  same  great 
Father  that  we  do.  This  cannot  be  true;  for 
surely  in  the  places  where  they  meet  to  worship 
him,  no  such  distinction  could  exist.' 

"  '  Perhaps,'  I  said,  '  in  a  desire  not  to  deceive 
you,  I  may  have  exaggerated  a  little,  and  made  it 
out  worse  than  it  is.' 

"'  I  am  sure  you  have,'  he  said  kindly  ;  'but  in 
my  curiosity  to  hear  about  your  planet,  I  must 
not  forget  that  you  came  here  for  what  help  you 
could  get  from  mine.' 

"  '  What  is  this  glorious  building?'  I  exclaimed  ; 
for  we  had  come  suddenly  upon  the  most  dazzling 
temple  I  ever  imagined. 

"  '  That  is  a  material  temple,'  he  said.  '  No  one 
here  worships  in  a  temple  which  could  be  made  by 
mortal  hands;  but  as  God  has  thrown  out  from  his 
spirit  hand  this  beautiful  universe  for  us,  so  we, 
when  we  have  materialized  anything  worthy  to  be 
placed  in  a  material  temple, humbly  offer  it  to  Him. 
Some  of  the  gems  in  the  roof  of  this  temple  were 


218  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

made  within  an  hour;  if  an  hour  hence  one  more 
beautiful  can  be  produced,  then  one  of  these  will 
be  taken  away,  and  the  better  one  placed  in  its 
stead.' 

"  I  asked  if  we  could  go  in. 

" '  If  you  desire  to  go,'  he  said ;  and  we  en- 
tered. Everywhere  were  precious  stones  or  won- 
derful carving.  Gold,  silver,  and  ivory,  and  many 
materials  I  had  never  heard  of,  were  made  into 
the  most  exquisite  forms.  While  I  gazed  in 
speechless  admiration,  he  said,  — 

"  '  This  is  only  that  we  may  not  forget  that  God 
lives  in  the  material  as  well  as  in  the  spiritual 
universe,  —  a  fact  we  are  too  apt  to  forget.  We  do 
not  worship  here  but  in  the  spirit.  And  to  prove 
to  you  that  every  one  who  helped  to  make  this 
temple  is  sincere,  without  asking  anybody  if  I 
may  appoint  the  time  for  its  destruction,  I  will 
destroy  it.' 

"  Slowly  he  walked  through  the  grand  aisles  of 
the  temple,  lined  on  both  sides  with  marvels  of 
richness  and  beauty,  and  passing  his  hand  gently 
over  one  after  another  they  disappeared  under  his 
touch.  When  he  had  reached  the  empty  walls,  I 
gained  speech  and  cried  aloud,  '  Spare  it !  Spare  it ! ' 

" '  It  is  not  worth  the  humblest  prayer  that  ever 
ascended  from  an  honest  heart,'  he  said,  and  began 
to  dissolve  the  beautiful  walls. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  219 

"  I  begged  for  the  poorest  gem  to  take  it  to  the 
Earth,  for  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  astonish- 
ment I  could  create  with  it,  and  how  much  gold  it 
would  bring.  But  he  shook  his  head,  and  said 
even  if  the  gems  were  not  sacred,  he  could  not 
give  me  one,  for  not  one  belonged  to  him. 

"  '  Then  by  what  right  do  you  destroy  them  ? '  I 
asked. 

"  He  said  that  perhaps  I  would  understand  later. 
When  the  great  temple  had  disappeared,  I  turned 
sadly  from  the  spot  and  we  walked  on  in  silence 
for  some  time,  when  he  said,  — 

"  '  Awhile  ago  you  said  that  you  supposed  those 
people  who  spoke  to  us  as  we  passed  despised  the 
Earth  because  she  was  small ;  can  you  not  see  by 
my  destroying  the  temple  which  so  many  helped  to 
build,  that  we  judge  nothing  from  its  material  size 
or  value  ?  There  was  a  law  passed  here  a  long 
time  ago,  and  I  suppose  it  is  still  in  existence,  that 
no  one  should  be  found  in  possession  of  any  mate- 
rial thing  for  longer  than  the  length  of  time  stated 
by  the  law,  which  I  have  forgotten  now.  A  great 
many  souls  are  sent  here  from  the  smaller  planets 
when  they  die,  that  they  may  learn  how  much  they 
over-value  the  material.  Do  you  see  that  great 
mansion  we  are  coming  to  now  ?  That  belongs  to 
a  person  who  is  very  slow  to  learn  this.' 

"  It  was  indeed  a  grand  establishment.      The 


220  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

mansion  was  of  a  soft  gray  stone  that  delighted 
the  eye.  Beautiful  gardens  were  upon  one  side, 
and  orchards  filled  with  sweet-smelling  fruits  upon 
the  other. 

"  '  Let  us  go  through  the  garden,'  said  my  com- 
panion. 

"  '  Is  it  allowed? '  I  asked. 

'"Are  you  not  a  stranger?'  he  replied;  'and 
tell  me  where  you  ever  saw  a  gate  closed  upon  a 
stranger  ? ' 

"  I  could  have  mentioned  many  places,  but  I 
would  not.  In  the  garden  we  found  several 
maidens,  with  some  bits  of  lace  in  their  hands 
which  they  seemed  to  be  comparing.  I  could  not 
understand  a  word  they  said ;  but  my  companion, 
after  watching  them  a  moment,  said  they  were 
making  lace  for  the  poor  lady  who  was  mistress 
there.  We  approached  them  together,  and  the 
maidens  all  said  what  I  had  learned  to  know 
meant,  '  God  bless  the  Earth  ! '  They  then  talked 
in  the  same  unknown  tongue  to  my  companion, 
who  asked  me  to  remain  there  a  few  moments 
while  he  went  to  the  house.  He  said  he  thought 
it  better  not  to  take  me  with  him,  as  my  influence 
was  quite  material,  and  it  might  affect  the  poor 
lady,  who  was  very  unhappy,  as  that  day  all  her 
possessions  were  to  be  dissolved ;  and  although 
she  knew  that  in  a  short  time  she  could  have  more, 


A  Fearless  Investigator,  221 

she  was  weeping  bitterly.  The  maidens  said  I 
could  go  and  look  in  if  I  wished,  for  her  grief  was 
so  sincere  she  would  not  notice  me.  I  went  to  a 
low  window  which  they  pointed  out ;  and  there, 
upon  a  couch  of  silk,  with  a  canopy  studded  with 
jewels,  lay  the  unhappy  lady  from  my  own 
planet. 

" '  We  are  very  sorry  for  her,'  said  one  of  the 
maidens.  '  But  why  does  she  weep  for  anything 
that  cannot  last  ?  She  is  a  foolish  woman.' 

"  We  walked  back  to  the  garden,  and  I  asked 
them  if  I  could  see  them  make  some  lace.  They 
all  sat  down,  and  one  suggested  that  I  tell  them 
which  made  the  prettiest  pattern. 

" '  See,'  she  said,  moving  her  empty  hands  rapidly, 
'this  is  my  design.'  'And  this  is  mine,'  said 
another,  producing  an  entirely  different  pattern. 
'  Which  will  the  Earth  lady  like  best  ?  ' 

" '  Where  did  you  learn  to  do  it  ? '  I  cried  in 
astonishment. 

"  They  said  that  everybody  could  do  it,  and 
wanted  me  to  try.  One  advised  me  to  begin  by 
trying  to  make  gold,  as  that  was  the  strongest 
thought  in  my  mind.  'Now,'  she  said,  'I  think  I 
have  it ; '  and  in  a  moment  she  told  me  to  open  my 
eyes,  and  she  held  in  her  hand  a  United  States  gold- 
piece.  '  Could  n't  you  think  of  something  better 
than  that?'  she  said,  laughing.  'I  do  think  that 


222  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

the  people  that  come  from  the  Earth  have  the 
most  common-place  images  in  their  minds ! ' 

"  One  of  the  others  spoke  to  her  in  her  own 
tongue,  and  she  said  immediately,  '  God  bless  the 
Earth  ! '  and  gave  me  the  coin,  saying,  '  Now  you 
make  one.'  When  I  told  her  I  could  not,  they  all 
cried,  '  Try !  try !  Think  of  the  same  thing 
again.' 

"  I  suppose  they  must  have  helped  me,  for  I 
soon  held  another  coin  in  my  hand.  But  I  felt  a 
terrible  pain  in  my  head,  and  it  seemed  as  if  there 
was  an  attraction  between  the  coin  in  my  hand  and 
the  one  in  my  mind  ;  and  the  farther  I  held  the 
one  in  my  hand  from  my  head,  the  stronger  be- 
came the  pain,  until  I  found  myself  holding  it  close 
to  my  brow  ;  and  in  a  moment  it  was  gone. 

" '  Now,  which  was  the  real  coin  ?  '  cried  one  of 
the  maidens,  laughing. 

"  '  That  depends  upon  what  you  want  to  do  with 
it,'  said  I.  '  If  I  were  in  the  Earth  and  felt 
hungry,  I  would  rather  have  the  one  I  had  in  my 
hand.' 

"  They  asked  me  if  I  could  eat  it,  and  laughed 
merrily. 

" '  Oh,  happy  maidens ! '  I  said  ;  '  you  live  in  a 
planet  where  no  one  is  bound  to  the  material ! 
Never  visit  the  poor  Earth  ! ' 

"  They  ceased  laughing,  and  each  began  to  make 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  223 

a  purse  of  silk.  When  the  purses  were  finished, 
they  filled  them  with  coins,  like  the  one  I  had 
made,  and  offered  them  to  me.  Their  voices 
sounded  sad,  I  thought,  as  they  said,  '  God  bless  the 
Earth  ! '  and  they  walked  away  and  left  me  alone. 

"  I  was  ashamed  to  have  my  companion  come 
back  and  find  me  with  so  much  gold,  and  tried  to 
make  up  my  mind  to  hide  it  somewhere,  and  return 
later  and  take  it  away.  I  had  just  discovered  a 
good  place  under  the  steps  of  the  mansion,  when  I 
remembered  that  in  a  few  hours  the  whole  of  the 
beautiful  place  would  disappear.  What  if  I  did 
not  come  back  before  it  was  accomplished? 
Would  not  my  gold  go  with  the  rest  ?  The  pos- 
session of  it  had  brought  back  all  the  horror  of 
parting  with  it,  and  I  gathered  the  purses  up  in  my 
arms  and  walked  rapidly  away. 

"  The  farther  I  walked  the  heavier  grew  my  steps, 
until  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  go  no  farther. 
The  people  I  passed  said,  '  God  bless  the  Earth  ! ' 
so  faintly  I  could  scarcely  hear  it.  The  atmos- 
phere became  heavy  ;  I  sank  down  and  closed  my 
eyes. 

"  I  was  nearly  unconscious,  when  I  heard  some 
one  beside  me.  It  was  the  voice  of  the  companion 
I  had  left  at  the  Earth  woman's  house.  'Take 
courage,'  he  said,  and  held  a  glass  of  something  I 
thought  was  wine  to  my  lips.  While  I  drank,  he 


224  -d  Fearless  Investigator. 

said  gently :  '  Go  back  to  your  gold.  You  will 
come  to  the  truth  at  last ;  but  go  back  to  it  until 
you  learn  the  worth  of  it.'  I  felt  a  strong  desire  to 
be  rid  of  his  presence,  and  he  said,  '  We  shall  meet 
again,  when  you  desire  it.'  I  remember  no  more. 
When  I  awoke  I  was  upon  the  Earth." 

"  At  The  Poplars,  I  suppose,"  said  Thurston. 

"  Then  it  was  all  a  dream,"  I  said,  "  and  not  the 
workings  of  your  conscious  imagination  ?  " 

"  Whichever  you  please,"  he  replied,  rising  to 
leave.  "  I  have  stayed  late.  I  ought  not  to  forget 
that  you  are  mortal,  and  sick  at  that." 

I  would  have  enjoyed  another  dream;  but  he 
bade  us  a  hasty  good-night,  and  went  away. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  225 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

u  T   WISH  I  had  not  started  him  on  Jupiter," 

*  said  Thurston,  after  the  old  gentleman  had 
gone.  "  Now  it  is  late,  and  I  wanted  to  tell  you 
something." 

"It  is  early  yet,  if  you  have  anything  to  tell 
me." 

"  It  will  soon  be,  but  I  must  stay  long  enough  to 
tell  you  that  Consolation  Temple  is  coming  here 
to-night.  I  thought  perhaps  you  would  sleep  bet- 
ter if  you  knew  she  was  under  the  same  roof  with 
you.  It  was  about  her  coming  that  Aunt  Marthy 
was  anxious  to  see  mother  to-night.  She  has  told 
Consolation  to  leave  the  farmhouse, — just  the 
same  as  turned  her  out,  because  the  Emma  Liz  said 
she  could  not  sleep  in  the  same  house  with  her. 

"Aunt  Marthy  said  that  the  Emma  Liz  came  to 
her  two  days  ago,  and  asked  her  to  tell  Consolation 
to  fold  her  tent  ;  and  when  she  asked  for  a  reason 
the  Emma  Liz  failed  to  give  any,  except  that  Con- 
solation was  too  airy.  Aunt  Marthy  said  that 
15 


226  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

did  n't  hurt  anybody  but  herself,  and  unless  Emma 
Liz  had  a  better  reason  to  offer,  she  could  do  noth- 
ing, because  mother  had  sent  the  Temples  there. 

"This  evening,  Aunt  Marthy,  Mandy  Litchfield, 
and  old  Miss  Kimball  had  a  grand  '  settin'  up  '  in 
Aunt  Marthy's  room,  and  Mandy  brought  out  both 
of  the  Emma  Liz's  aunts  and  they  looked  so  per- 
fectly natural  that  Aunt  Marthy  said  she  could  not 
believe  that  they  had  ever  died.  She  made  them 
walk  and  talk  and  brush  their  hair;  and  now  that 
she  is  positively  sure  Mandy  is  not  a  fraud,  she  is 
going  to  bring  her  here,  and  we  shall  have  the 
house  full. 

"  She  told  the  two  aunts  to  hold  on  to  themselves 
while  she  went  to  call  the  Emma  Liz,  but  they 
said,  '  No ;  don't  call  her,  because  she  will  not 
come ;  but  do  as  she  wants  you  to  do :  send  that 
woman  away.  If  you  don't,  the  Emma  Liz  will 
surely  be  sick ;  and  don't  ask  us  why,  but  do  as  we 
tell  you  ! '  What  do  you  think  of  that  ?  " 

"And  did  she  send  Mrs.  Temple  away  on  ac- 
count of  these  ghosts?  "  I  asked  in  amazement. 

"It  was  the  first  time  her  sisters-in-law  had 
called  for  twenty  years  ;  how  could  she  refuse  this 
trifling  favor  ?  She  was  only  afraid  of  what  mother 
would  say.  She  came,  and  when  mother  asked  her 
what  Consolation  had  done,  she  could  not  bring  a 
thing  against  her. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  227 

"  Mother  said,  '  It  is  eleven  o'clock ;  where  shall 
they  go?'  '  It  is  your  house,'  said  poor  Aunt 
Marthy,  'but  it  is  my  home.  I  can  go  away,  I  can 
leave  it;  but  I  will  never  stay  in  a  house  with  a 
woman  that  the  spirits  and  the  Emma  Liz  both  say 
ain't  right.' 

"  Mother  wanted  to  please  Aunt  Marthy,  and 
did  not  want  to  mix  up  the  Temples  and  the 
Blossoms ;  but  she  told  her  to  ask  Consolation  to 
come  over  here  a  minute  to  see  her,  and  she 
promised  she  should  not  go  back.  But  that  did  n't 
satisfy  Aunt  Marthy ;  she  wanted  Consolation 
sent  away  from  The  Poplars.  She  said  she  did 
not  throw  things  at  her  neighbors  that  she  could 
not  stand  herself,  and  she  could  bear  as  much  as 
we  could.  '  Be  sure,'  she  said,  '  that  the  Emma 
Liz  knows  something;  for  she  would  never  ask  to 
have  a  woman  sent  away  because  she  put  on  too 
many  frills.'  And  I  tell  you,  John,  I  believe  she 
does  know  something  that  we  don't.  But  here  I  am 
talking  until  morning.  The  whole  thing  is,  you 
have  your  way ;  Consolation  Temple  is  under  the 
same  roof  with  you,  for  Mother  Moore  would  never 
let  her  sleep  outdoors.  Rest  now  in  peace.  We 
can't  get  rid  of  her  before  the  masquerade  party. 
I  did  want  you  to  see  her !  but  you'll  get  tired  of 
it  after  a  few  days,  and  she  won't  go.  Good-night, 
and  dream  of  Jupiter." 


228  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

The  next  morning  I  was  much  amused  in  watch- 
ing the  gentle,  insinuating  advances  of  Consolation 
to  Mrs.  Blossom,  and  the  firm  but  polite  man- 
ner in  which  the  Professor's  wife  repelled  them 
all. 

The  fair  minstrel  had  gone. 

Mrs.  Moore  did  not  invite  Consolation  to  join 
the  class  ;  and  we  were  taking  our  lesson  as  usual, 
and  she  sat  reading  in  another  room,  when  we 
heard  a  loud  cry,  and  looking  out  through  the 
open  window  I  saw  my  protoplast  pounding  Miss 
Norton's  protoplast  with  considerable  force.  Greatly 
to  my  surprise,  Miss  Norton's,  instead  of  receiving 
the  attention  with  indifference,  gave  the  long  yel- 
low ribbon,  which  distinguished  my  property,  a 
sudden  jerk  which  landed  its  wearer  half-strangled 
upon  the  grass.  We  all  ran  out ;  but  before  we 
reached  them,  Consolation  was  seen  flying  towards 
the  spot  with  terror  in  her  eyes. 

"  My  babes  !  "  she  cried,  in  a  tragic  tone,  "  how 
can  I  interpret  this  conduct  ?  Surely,  this  is 
obsession  ! " 

The  Professor  reached  down,  took  a  babe  in 
each  hand,  and  looked  first  at  one,  then  at  the 
other,  attentively.  They  seemed  quite  uncon- 
scious of  their  audience,  and  made  vain  struggles 
to  free  themselves  in  order  to  reach  each  other ;  but 
the  Professor  held  them  firmly. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  229 

"  I  never  knew  them  to  quarrel  before,"  said 
Mrs.  Moore. 

"  They  never  did,"  said  Consolation,  sadly  ;  "  they 
were  like  two  notes  that  harmonize,  or  two  colors 
that  blend  perfectly." 

"  They  were  like  the  same  note  struck  twice,  or 
two  samples  of  the  same  color,"  said  Thurston. 
"  Come,  own  up,  you  two,  —  I  mean  you,  Clara 
and  John,  —  own  up  that  you  have  begun  your 
experimenting  in  practical  Phrenology." 

"  I  deny  it !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Norton.  "  I  have 
not  decided  yet  what  is  best  to  do  with  mine." 

I  positively  declared  that  I  had  not  seen  the 
babes  except  at  their  play  since  they  came. 

The  Professor  handed  one  struggling  protoplast 
to  the  mother,  and  then  put  his  fingers  behind  the 
ear  of  the  other. 

"  I  understand  it  now,  madam,"  he  said  sol- 
emnly. "  Destructiveness  and  combativeness  nat- 
urally unusually  small,  but  developed  suddenly  to 
an  abnormal  degree.  Allow  me,  if  you  please,  to 
take  the  other  child." 

"  Before  you  proceed  any  further,"  said  Consola- 
tion, "  perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  develop  the  fac- 
ulty of  credulity  in  some  of  the  older  craniums 
present,  if  your  valuable  science  acknowledges 
such  a  faculty." 

"It  acknowledges  everything,  madam,"  said  the 


230  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

Professor,  evidently  unconscious  of  anything  ex- 
cept a  desire  to  gain  information  on  the  part  of  the 
anxious  mother.  "  Sometimes  it  is  the  blending 
of  many  faculties  which  produce  another ;  but 
Phrenology  acknowledges  everything.  May  I 
take  the  other  child  for  a  moment  ?  " 

A  clever  student  of  physiognomy  would  have 
found  a  field  for  labor  in  Consolation  Temple's 
face  at  this  moment.  It  was  not  that  it  expressed 
a  great  deal,  but  because,  knowing  as  we  all  did 
how  much  was  going  on  in  her  mind,  that  it  was 
possible  for  her  face  to  express  so  little. 

"  Never  to  refuse  anything  that  amuses  any- 
body, Thurston  says,  is  a  good  resolution,"  she 
said  smiling,  and  exchanged  children  with  the 
Professor. 

"  Just  as  I  supposed,"  he  said,  after  he  had 
pushed  the  heavy  hair  away  from  the  child's  ears. 
"  Mrs.  Temple,  whoever  is  to  blame  for  this,  it  is 
not  I.  This  is  the  first  time  I  have  seen  your  chil- 
dren since  they  came  to  this  place;  nor  has  any 
one  else  done  this  by  my  direction,  or  with  my 
knowledge." 

"  Professor !  "  said  his  wife,  "  do  not  condescend 
to  defend  yourself.  You  are  not  a  stranger  to 
Mrs.  Temple." 

"  Do  not  interfere,  May  Blossom,"  he  returned 
quietly.  "To  increase  the  number  of  women  in 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  231 

an  argument  always  complicates  matters  in  propor- 
tion to  the  number  added.  Emmanuel  Temple 
told  me  that,  and  I  have  found  it  very  true." 

"  There  is  nothing  to  argue,"  said  Consolation, 
sweetly ;  "  and  why  should  I  hold  you  responsible 
for  a  little  dispute  between  my  babes,  any  more 
than  any  other  person  here  ?" 

"  They  never  quarrelled  before,"  said  Thurston. 

"  But  it  is  not  at  all  likely  two  children  are  going 
to  grow  up  together  and  never  quarrel,"  said  his 
mother.  "  It  is  nothing." 

"  Do  you  say  it  is  nothing,"  said  the  Professor, 
turning  towards  Mrs.  Moore,  "when  two  children, 
living  together  day  after  day  without  any  apparent 
opposition  to  each  other,  suddenly  try  to  knock 
each  other  down?  Do  you  say  it  is  nothing?  It 
means  that  somebody  has  changed  the  general 
tenor  of  their  dispositions.  There  is  but  one  way, 
and  we  all  know  that  way.  I  must  say  it,  —  one 
or  more  persons  here  can  tell  who  has  done  it." 

Thurston  looked  first  at  Miss  Norton,  then  at 
me.  Maria  Williams  did  the  same.  I  am  sure  I 
looked  guilty,  although  I  was  perfectly  innocent. 

"  You  changed  your  mind  about  the  magazine 
poetess,  I  suppose,"  said  Thurston,  "  and  you  were 
working  up  a  war  goddess  ;  but  you  and  Clara 
must  have  had  some  understanding  between  you, 
and  I  believe  you  were  on  the  same  track." 


232  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  I  have  not  touched  those  children  since  they 
came,  except  to  wash  their  faces  and  put  on  fresh 
ribbons,"  Miss  Norton  declared. 

"  How  can  you  be  annoyed  by  such  nonsense, 
Miss  Norton?"  asked  Consolation. 

"How  do  you  account  for  it?"  asked  Miss 
Norton. 

"  It  is  a  simple  case  of  obsession,"  said  Con- 
solation. 

"Obsession!"  exclaimed  Miss  Norton,  "what 
is  that?" 

"  It  may  be  that  the  influences  here  brought  a 
conflicting  circle  of  spirits,  and  some  bad  spirits 
have  taken  control  of  my  babes." 

"  I  should  think  you  would  have  to  develop  some 
credulity  somewhere  before  you  could  get  any  one 
to  believe  that,"  said  Mrs.  Blossom. 

"  Shall  we  go  on  with  our  lesson  ?  "  inquired  the 
Professor. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Moore.  "  Go  back  to  your 
lesson,  and  I  will  stay  with  Consolation  and  the 
children." 

We  went  back  and  took  up  our  little  heads  ;  but 
the  Professor  looked  troubled  and  absent-minded. 
At  the  end  of  the  lesson,  he  said  he  was  at  a  loss 
to  tell  who  had  been  practising  upon  Emmanuel 
Temple's  children,  and  what  they  were  trying  to 
make  of  them.  "  Mrs.  Temple,"  he  said  sadly, 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  233 

"  carries  her  animosity  so  far  as  to  ignore  the  truth 
of  the  greatest  science,  because  it  was  proved  by 
me." 

"  That  is  better  than  to  accuse  you  of  making 
little  beasts  of  her  children,"  said  his  wife. 

"  I  would  rather  be  accused  of  anything  than 
have  the  truth  held  in  contempt.  I  am  convinced 
that  somebody  in  this  house  —  may  I  say,  in  this 
very  class  —  could  tell  us  who  is  to  blame  ;  but  let 
me  again  assure  you  all  that  it  was  not  done  with 
my  knowledge." 

"  Come,  Clara  Norton,"  said  Thurston,  persua- 
sively, "  if  Mr.  Hardy  won't  confess,  you  might. 
Whatever  may  be  the  anger  of  the  mother,  I  will 
protect  you." 

"  What  object  could  Miss  Norton  have  in  de- 
ceiving us  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Blossom. 

"  That  is  what  I  can't  understand,"  said  Thurs- 
ton, earnestly. 

Mrs.  Blossom  came  to  the  window  where  I  stood 
looking  out  to  see  what  the  babies  were  doing. 
"  Mr.  Hardy,"  she  said,  in  a  low  tone,  "  have  you 
faith  in  practical  Phrenology  ? " 

"  The  greatest,"  I  declared. 

"  You  believe  that  somebody  has  been  testing 
the  value  of  it  when  you  see  those  children,  don't 
you  ?  " 

"How  can  I  help  it?" 


234  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

She  looked  at  me  with  great  significance  in  her 
eyes. 

"  Mrs.  Blossom,  you,  at  least,  believe  that  I  am 
innocent  of  the  fearful  charge  of  developing  inert 
protoplasts  into  little  savages  !  " 

"  It  is  not  enough  to  be  innocent,"  she  whis- 
pered. "  Come  with  me,  and  I  will  prove  your 
innocence.  See,  there  are  the  sweet  babes,  ready 
for  another  fight ;  let  us  go  quickly  before  any  one 
sees  them." 

We  hurried  into  the  garden,  where  the  proto- 
plasts had  seized  a  small  wagon,  —  one  by  the 
wheel,  the  other  by  the  pole,  —  and  were  pull- 
ing with  all  the  force  of  their  newly  developed 
faculties. 

"  Oo  let  go ! "  cried  the  one  with  red  ribbons. 
"Ooletgo!  let  go!" 

"  I  won't !  "  declared  the  Yellow. 

"  Knock  oo  head  off,"  said  the  Red. 

"  Knock  oo  head  too,"  the  Yellow  returned 
boldly. 

Mrs.  Blossom  hastened  to  them  and  in  a  most 
insinuating  manner  said,  "  Oh,  what  a  jolly  little 
wagon  !  Who  gave  it  to  you  ?  " 

"  Thurston,"  said  Red. 

"  How  good  Mr.  Thurston  is !  You  like  him 
better  than  Mr.  Hardy,  don't  you  ?" 

"Yes,  he  gave  me  this  cart,"  said  Yellow. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  235 

"  No,  he  gave  it  to  me,"  roared  Red. 

"  He  did  n't !  " 

"Redid!" 

"  What  else  did  he  give  you  ?  "  Mrs.  Blossom 
inquired  mildly. 

"He  gave  me  candy  and  a  horse,"  said  Red. 

"  He  gave  me  candy  and  he  yubs  my  ears,"  said 
Yellow. 

"  He  yubs  my  ears,  too,"  admitted  Red. 

"He  don't!"  cried  Yellow,  "and  you  mustn't 
tell." 

"  Well,  I  did  n't  tell." 

"  You  did  !  " 

"I  didn't!" 

"  I  did  n't  tell  that  he  is  going  to  give  me  a 
jumping  jack  if  I  yub  my  ears  myself,"  said  Yel- 
low, slyly. 

"  He  's  going  to  give  me  a  tin  horsey  and  a  doll 
if  I  yub  my  ears,"  said  Red. 

"  Do  you  rub  your  ears  yourself  ? "  asked  the 
Professor's  wife. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Yellow,  "  cause  it  makes  us  gyow 
big  and  smart." 

"  Did  Mr.  Thurston  tell  you  so  ? "  asked  Mrs. 
Blossom,  affably. 

"  Yes,"  from  both  protoplasts. 

Mrs.  Blossom  began  to  rub  the  top  of  her  ears  : 
"  I  want  to  grow  big  and  smart,"  she  said. 


236  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  B'hind,  not  on  ze  top  !  "  cried  Red. 

"  Now  I  understand,"  she  said,  throwing  a  hand- 
ful of  peppermints  into  the  little  wagon,  whereupon 
both  babies  began  to  scrabble ;  Mrs.  Blossom  al- 
ways smelt  of  peppermints. 

"  There,  that 's  settled,  and  just  about  as  I  ex- 
pected. Now  I  will  go  tell  the  Professor.  He 
will  be  glad  to  know  that  you  did  n't  try  to  deceive 
him,  for  he  likes  you  first-rate ;  and  he  can't  un- 
derstand a  joke.  I  mean,  he  could  n't  see  anything 
funny  in  anything  that  made  anybody  uncomfort- 
able, if  only  for  a  minute.  I  can.  I  think  it  was 
just  awfully  cute  now  in  that  Thurston  to  go  and 
develop  combativeness  and  destructiveness  in 
those  little  dough-balls,  and  set  them  a-fighting ; 
but  the  Professor  could  n't  see  any  fun  in  it  if  we 
should  stand  pointing  it  out  all  night." 

"  Ludicrosity,"  said  a  drawling  voice  near  us, 
"  is  a  characteristic  of  a  light  mind." 

We  turned  and  saw  in  a  garden  chair,  not  far 
away,  hidden  behind  a  large  bush,  old  Protoplasm, 
reading.  He  had  heard  all  that  we  had  said,  but 
evidently  did  not  feel  any  more  alarmed  at  practi- 
cal Phrenology  than  his  wife,  for  he  looked  as  in- 
different as  a  personified  negative  pole. 

"  Better  to  have  a  light  mind  than  none,"  said 
Mrs.  Blossom. 

"  Possibly,"  he  returned,  coming  towards  us. 


A  Fearless  Investigator,  237 

"  Did  you  hear  what  we  were  saying  ? "  she 
asked  coolly. 

"  You  said  there  was  something  the  Professor 
would  not  see  any  fun  in.  I  remember  you,  May 
Blossom ;  you  always  turned  everything  into 
ridicule.  You  were  making  fun  of  my  babies  to 
Mr.  Hardy." 

"I  deny  it,  in  totof"  she  cried.  "You  know 
very  well  if  I  wanted  to  make  fun  of  any  one  it 
would  be  of  you,  and  not  your  children.  I  declare 
I  don't  believe  you  heard  what  we  said.  But  you 
do  know  that  your  innocent  offsprings  had  a  little 
fight  a  while  ago,  I  suppose." 

"  So  Consolation  said ;  and  she  told  me  that 
some  of  you  believed  that  Professor  Blossom  had 
suddenly,  within  a  few  days,  developed  the  germs 
of  antagonism  in  them  by  treating  them  after  one 
of  his  little  charts  that  he  has  got  up  to  show  his 
classes ;  but  I  told  Consolation  that  whoever  put 
those  ribbons  on  them  was  the  one  to  blame ;  and 
the  only  one  she  should  hold  responsible  for  the 
fighting.  If  I  had  been  there  I  should  let  them 
fight  it  out." 

"  That 's  just  like  a  man,  to  lay  it  all  to  those 
innocent  ribbons,"  said  Mrs.  Blossom. 

"  The  female  mind  is  always  susceptible  to 
color,"  said  Emmanuel;  "and  those  babies  had 
never  seen  a  color  on  one  that  was  not  on  the 


238  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

other.  It  was  a  surprise,  and  they  comprehended 
for  the  first  time  that  there  was  a  difference,  — 
that  they  were  not  the  same  individual.  This  idea 
was  made  stronger  by  Thurston's  giving  them 
different  toys,  and  telling  them  that  one  was 
Mr.  Hardy's  girl  and  the  other  Miss  Norton's. 
You  rub  the  bumps  of  benevolence  and  sublimity 
of  one  child,  until  her  head  is  black  and  blue,  and 
then  give  more  candy  to  her  sister  than  to  her,  and 
you  may  have  an  idea  that  she  won't  howl,  but 
she  will.  Take  my  word  for  it.  You  just  tell 
Professor  Blossom  that  if  my  babies  claw  each 
other,  it  is  the  blood  of  their  ancestors,  the  beasts, 
that  is  accountable,  and  nothing  he  has  done ;  and 
if  he  can  make  people  to  order,  he  better  go  to 
work  and  manufacture  a  few  scientists  to  counter- 
balance the  abstruse  specimens  that  we  have  to 
encounter  now." 

"His  idea  exactly!"  cried  Mrs.  Blossom.  "He 
told  me  only  last  night,  if  he  could  have  Mrs. 
Temple,  and  that  singer  that  was  here,  under  his 
care  for  a  year,  he  would  make  wonderful  women 
of  them;  that  they  both  have  great  intellectual 
power,  but  it  is  all  wasted.  Now,  just  look  here, 
Mr.  Temple,  — how  can  a  practical  man  like  you, 
when  you  scoff  at  Phrenology,  how  can  you 
accept  such  nonsensical  ideas  as  your  wife 
holds?  She  said  she  believed  the  children  were 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  239 

controlled  by  bad  spirits.  How  can  you  believe 
such  stuff?" 

"  Who  told  you  I  believed  it  ?  " 

"  Husband  and  wife  ought  to  believe  the  same 
thing." 

"  You  make  fun  of  my  babies ;  does  it  follow 
that  the  Professor  would  do  the  same  because  you 
are  his  wife?  Consolation  thinks  she  talks  with 
people  who  are  nothing  but  a  half-pint  of  ashes ; 
does  it  follow  that  I  believe  the  same  ?  Ask  Mr. 
Hardy." 

I  begged  to  be  allowed  to  decline  to  give  any 
opinion  on  so  delicate  a  subject. 

"  Say  nothing  about  our  discovery,"  said  Mrs. 
Blossom,  with  her  finger  on  her  lips ;  and  I  left 
them  to  continue  their  friendly  argument. 


240  A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

BEFORE  returning  to  the  house,  I  walked 
through  the  garden,  hoping  to  find  Miss 
Norton,  for  I  had  not  seen  her  a  moment  without 
Thurston  since  our  betrothal,  —  if  I  may  so  call 
our  practical  contract,  —  and  I  wanted  to  ask  her 
permission  to  tell  him  everything.  It  was  true  that 
I  had  not  fallen  in  love  with  Clara  Norton.  Could 
I  not  claim  that  I  had  kept  my  promise  to  him  to 
the  letter  ?  Yet  I  did  not  feel  quite  free  from  self- 
reproach. 

I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  that  Miss  Norton 
avoided  me,  and  yet  she  showed  no  desire  to  give 
me  an  opportunity  of  speaking  again  with  her. 
Her  perfect  ease  of  manner  and  unstudied  courtesy 
caused  me  often  to  feel  that  she  had  forgotten  her 
promise,  or  ignored  it.  Her  manner  to  Thurston 
had  grown  almost  affectionate.  Yet  I  found 
myself  always  unable  to  criticise  it  unfavorably. 
He  had  never  referred  to  the  story  he  told  me  the 
first  evening  I  came  to  The  Poplars,  nor  had  I  any 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  241 

reason  to  believe  he  was  suffering  from  unrequited 
love ;  but  I  was  suffering  from  uneasiness,  and  I 
imagined  it  came  from  the  idea  that  I  had  not 
acted  quite  honorably  toward  him. 

I  did  not  find  Miss  Norton  in  the  garden,  and  I 
was  going  indoors  to  look  for  her  when  Consola- 
tion, who  sat  upon  the  piazza,  with  Maria  Williams, 
asked  me  when  I  had  heard  from  my  friend. 

"What  friend?"  I  inquired,  a  little  puzzled, 
for  I  could  not  believe  she  would  speak  of  D  wight 
Salem. 

"  Why,  little  Mr.  Salem,  of  course,"  she  replied. 

"  He  is  doing  very  well,"  I  said,  as  carelessly  as 
I  could. 

"  Come  here  and  tell  us  how  it  happened,"  and 
she  drew  aside  the  folds  of  her  white  dress  and 
pointed  to  a  low  chair  beside  her. 

"  I  am  sure,"  I  told  her  as  I  sat  down,  "  I  know 
no  more  about  it  than  you  do." 

"  I  am  very  sure  you  do,"  and  I  felt  her  eyes 
settling  upon  me. 

There  was  a  faint  color  in  her  pale  face,  and  the 
strong  rays  of  the  sun,  her  worst  enemy,  were  held 
from  her  by  the  kindly  intervention  of  a  heavy 
awning.  Her  tall,  slender  figure  seemed  to  fall 
naturally  into  graceful  postures.  Her  eyes  went 
straight  into  a  man's  imagination,  and  as  they  fell 
upon  me  I  thought  of  Salem,  and  felt  a  trifle  sorry 
16 


242  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

for  him ;  but  when  she  spread  her  cold,  artificial 
smile,  —  a  smile  which  sometimes  varied  in  extent 
but  never  in  quality,  —  and  I  heard  her  soulless 
voice,  a  great  indignation  seized  me  at  the  pos- 
sibility of  her  thinking  that  I  intended  to  give  her 
to  understand  that  we  both  knew  the  truth,  and 
I  said,  — 

"  If  you  want  my  private  opinion  of  the  accident, 
Mrs.  Temple,  I  will  give  it  to  you."  Before  she 
could  reply,  I  continued,  "  I  believe  you  to  be  the 
cause." 

"  Do  you  ?  " 

I  could  not  interpret  her  tone.  "  Yes,  and  I  will 
give  you  my  reasons,  and  we  shall  see  if  Mrs. 
Williams  does  not  agree  with  me." 

"  Let  us  see,"  said  that  lady. 

"  The  last  person  to  talk  with  Salem  before  the 
accident  was  Mrs.  Temple.  It  was  evening.  What 
more  natural  than  to  suppose  that  Mrs.  Temple 
talked  on  her  favorite  subject,  —  the  coming  back 
of  the  dead?  As  she  goes  on,  I  can  imagine 
Salem,  who  is  a  more  imaginative  man  than  you 
may  think,  becoming  fascinated  by  the  weird  ideas 
which  have  become  so  commonplace  to  Mrs.  Tem- 
ple. While  they  walk,  the  air  seems  filled  with 
formless,  viewless,  but  almost  palpable  beings.  It 
is  all  very  well  when  he  is  by  her  side,  but  the  walk 
comes  to  an  end :  Mrs.  Temple  cannot  walk  all 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  243 

night.  He  bids  her  good-night  at  the  farmhouse 
door,  and  starts  for  the  Barrys'.  For  the  first  time 
in  his  life  fear  takes  possession  of  him.  He  feels 
that  he  is  pursued  by  beings,  perhaps  fiends,  that 
he  cannot  see.  He  goes  on  a  few  steps,  but  feels 
ashamed  as  he  finds  himself  turning  and  coming 
towards  this  house.  He  will  come  and  spend  an 
hour  with  me,  he  says  to  himself,  and  then  go  to 
Mr.  Barry's.  He  turns  into  the  avenue,  and  a 
shadow  falls  across  his  path;  it  is  only  the  branches 
of  the  trees  in  the  moonlight,  but  he  feels  for  his 
pistol,  which  he  never  carried  until  he  heard  of 
ghosts,  and  then  comes  to  him  the  terrible  idea 
that  you  cannot  damage  a  spirit  with  lead.  In  his 
foolish  terror  he  goes  to  replace  the  pistol,  which 
he  forgets  he  has  cocked,  and  the  result  is  the 
accident.  Who  is  to  blame  ?  " 

Maria  Williams  laughed ;  but  I  felt  that  Consola- 
tion Temple,  behind  her  cold  smile,  was  trying  to 
read  my  thoughts. 

"  Dwight  Salem  did  not  know,  perhaps,  what  he 
was  doing  that  night,"  she  said. 

"  That  is  just  what  I  claim,"  said  I. 

"  He  is  but  an  elementary  being,  at  best,"  said 
Consolation,  calmly. 

"  That  is  a  new  kind  of  creature.  Am  I  an 
elementary  also  ? "  I  hastened  to  inquire. 

"  You  !  "  she  spoke  so  softly  I  hardly  heard  the 


244  -A  Fearless  Investigator. 

word ;  but  she  looked  at  me,  and  I  felt  as  if  she 
tried  to  hold  me  with  her  magnetic  eyes.  The 
blood  rushed  to  my  brow,  and  I  was  furious  that 
Maria  Williams  noticed  it.  I  saw  her  try  to 
smooth  away  a  smile  with  her  hand,  as  she  said,  — 

"  When  Mrs.  Temple  meets  a  being  who  is  not 
elementary,  it  often  takes  her  some  time  to  explain 
her  meaning;  and  as  I  have  heard  it,  I  am  sure  you 
will  excuse  me,  Mr.  Hardy,"  and  she  left  us. 

"  If  you  had  known  what  an  elementary  was," 
Consolation  went  on,  apparently  not  knowing  that 
Maria  Williams  had  spoken,  or  was  gone,  "you 
never  could  have  asked  if  you  were  one." 

"  Let  us  see,  as  Mrs.  Williams  said.  What  is 
an  elementary,  Mrs.  Temple  ?  I  am  always  ready 
to  learn." 

"  Perhaps  half  the  people  you  meet  are  elemen- 
taries,  my  brother." 

"  That  is  a  tremendous  per  cent !  "  I  exclaimed. 

"It  would  be  heartrending  if  one  had  no  faith 
in  the  immortality  of  spirit ;  but  spirits  of  higher 
planes  do  not  mourn,  —  why  should  we  ?" 

"  Possibly,  if  I  understood  it  all,  I  might  mourn 
sincerely,  for  I  am  more  easily  moved  than  you, 
Mrs.  Temple." 

"  You  will  never  mourn !  Leave  that  to  the 
elementaries.  But  you  ask  what  are  they  ?  They 
are  fragments  of  souls.  No,  that  does  not  convey 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  245 

the  idea,  —  they  are  the  beginning  of  souls.  The 
upper  air  is  full  of  them,  waiting  to  be  given  per- 
sonality. I  have  been  told  recently,  by  Goethe, 
that  so  anxious  are  they  to  be  counted  as  souls  that 
they  come  and  are  born  when  they  are  little  supe- 
rior to  the  beasts  in  the  field.  If  they  find  a  por- 
tion of  a  human  mind  unused,  they  take  possession 
of  it,  and  that  accounts  for  the  strange  actions  of 
many  people.  They  haunt  the  weak  and  foolish 
minded,  with  a  hope  that  they  can  take  control  of 
them.  It  is  the  same  thing  as  driving  out  the 
rightful  owner.  It  was  elementaries,  I  have  not  a 
doubt,  that  controlled  my  precious  babes  to-day. 
Since  I  have  known  Professor  Blossom,  he  has 
been  three  distinct  persons  —  mind  you  I  do  not  say 
souls,  —  he  has  not  become  a  soul  yet,  and  may  not 
for  ages ;  but  being  born  an  elementary,  he  has 
been  twice  driven  out  of  his  house  of  clay  by  rob- 
bers, who  have  no  more  right  to  exist  as  personali- 
ties than  he  has." 

I  thought  if  the  Professor  could  hear  this,  he 
would  feel  that  Consolation  was  fairly  well  avenged 
for  the  trifling  insult  of  asking  for  a  cast  of  her 
head  as  a  specimen  of  the  lack  of  conscientious- 
ness. 

"  I  wish  you  had  not  told  me  this,"  I  said 
frankly. 

"  And  why  ?"  she  asked  gently. 


246  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"It  gives  too  much  scope  to  the  imagination.  I 
am  recently  up  from  a  fever,  and  my  brain  needs  a 
narcotic  rather  than  a  stimulant." 

"  Would  you  not  rather  learn  this  before  it  is  too 
late  ?  " 

"  It  is  never  late  enough  to  learn  some  things. 
I  wish  I  had  not  heard  of  this." 

"Why?" 

"  Now,  instead  of  pursuing  the  study  of  practical 
Phrenology,  I  shall  be  all  the  time  studying  my 
fellow-creatures  to  find  out  if  they  are  elemen- 
taries ;  and  if  I  discover  a  sudden  change  of 
tastes  in  myself,  or  a  sudden  distaste  for  what  I 
have  formerly  cared  for,  I  shall  imagine  myself  a 
poor  elementary,  with  no  abiding  place,  liable  at 
any  moment  to  be  driven  out  of  my  own  body,  or 
perhaps  paying  a  tailor's  bill  for  clothes  I  have 
never  enjoyed,  but  which  were  worn  out  long  ago 
by  a  former  dweller  in  my  poor  frame.  There  is 
no  limit  to  the  anguish  this  idea  can  entail !  Now 
I  understand  what  poor  Salem  was  trying  to  do,  — 
he  was  trying  to  shoot  an  elementary  that  was 
doing  his  best  to  crowd  him  out  of  his  boots. 
Mrs.  Temple,  unless  you  can  prove  to  me  that  I 
am  a  full-fledged  soul,  I  shall  share  Dwight  Salem's 
fate ! " 

"  I  can  assure  you  of  it,"  she  said  with  a  smile. 
"You  are  a  complete  soul." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  247 

"  How  do  you  know  ? " 

"  I  am  given  the  power  to  know." 

"How  am  I  to  be  sure?  What  authority 
have  I  ? " 

"  The  word  of  the  immortal  Goethe.  I  am 
always  in  communication  with  him  ;  he  is  my 
master." 

"  Did  he  teach  you  to  know  elementaries  ?  Did 
he  tell  you  that  Dwight  Salem  was  one  ? " 

"  You  take  me  for  a  dull  pupil,"  she  said 
reproachfully. 

"It  would  be  impossible  to  associate  you  with 
dullness,  either  as  pupil  or  teacher,"  I  hastened  to 
say. 

For  a  moment  an  angry  light  burned  in  her  dark 
eyes ;  she  made  no  gesture  of  indignation,  and 
when  she  spoke  her  voice  sounded  as  usual ;  but 
I  felt  as  if  I  had  almost  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
true  woman. 

"  How  can  any  one  associate  me  with  anything 
but  dullness  ?  "  she  said,  in  a  low  tone  ;  "  the  lines 
are  fallen  unto  me  in  dull  places." 

I  hoped  she  would  continue  to  speak  of  herself, 
but  she  said  after  a  moment,  — 

"  Turn  and  look  at  those  two  persons  coming 
through  the  garden,  and  tell  me  what  they  are. 
I  will  wager  you  ten  dollars  that  you  cannot 
do  it." 


248  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

Without  turning,  I  said,  "  They  are  well-grown 
souls,  complete,  and  full-fledged." 

"Be  careful,"  she  said  quietly,  "you  may  lose 
your  money." 

"  I  will  not  withdraw ;  I  know  the  Professor  is 
in  the  house." 

She  held  out  her  hand  and  said,  "  I  will  take  the 
ten  dollars ;  they  are  both  elementaries.  It  is 
May  Blossom  and  my  husband !  " 

I  gave  her  the  ten  dollars,  which  she  thrust  care- 
lessly in  her  girdle.  When  May  Blossom  came  to 
the  piazza,  her  sharp  eye  detected  the  bill  before 
she  had  taken  a  seat,  and  she  exclaimed, — 

"  Money  must  grow  round  here  somewhere  on 
the  bushes,  when  you  can  put  a  ten  dollar  bill  like 
a  daisy  in  your  belt,  Mrs.  Temple." 

"  I  have  seen  the  time  when  I  would  give  ten 
dollars  for  a  fresh  daisy,"  said  Consolation,  with  a 
manner  so  royal  I  could  not  help  admiring  her. 

"  I  never  saw  the  time  when  I  could  give  it, 
however  willing  I  might  be,"  said  the  Professor's 
wife. 

"Where  did  you  get  that?"  asked  Emmanuel, 
with  a  wondering  expression  in  his  dark  face. 

"  A  wager,"  Consolation  replied.  "  Mr.  Hardy 
bet  with  me  and  lost." 

"  I  ought  to  have  told  Mr.  Hardy  not  to  bet 
with  you.  You  always  get  the  best  of  it  ;  and  the 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  249 

worst  of  it  is,  Mr.  Hardy,  she  usually  leaves  it  out 
to  such  referees  as  Shakespeare,  or  Goethe,  or 
Webster,  —  always  some  authority  that  you  have 
to  reach  on  a  fog  ladder,  and  I  have  n't  learned  to 
go  up  a  fog  ladder  yet." 

"Anything  that  goes  above  your  head  is  a  fog 
ladder."  said  Consolation,  playfully. 

"  Well,  I  must  acknowledge  that  I  don't  know 
much  of  what 's  going  on  after  you  pass  that  point. 
But  I  am  glad  you  have  ten  dollars,  for  we  must  go 
to  the  city  to-night ;  and  I  let  Samson  have  the 
last  cent  I  had  in  my  pockets,  and  he  has  n't  come 
back  yet." 

11  Why  must  you  go  to  the  city  to-night  ? " 
Consolation  demanded. 

"  I  said  we  must  go,"  he  returned. 

"  I  have  no  thought  of  going,"  she  said,  raising 
her  head  a  little,  and  half  closing  her  eyes;  "  I  am 
very  comfortable  here." 

"  May  Blossom  says  there  is  going  to  be  a  great 
party  here  to-morrow  night,  and  everybody  will  be 
very  busy.  The  Professor  and  May  are  going  to- 
night. Miss  Norton  and  Thurston  are  going  to 
have  the  party.  I  thought  if  we  could,  we  had 
better  go  before  Maria  Williams  advised  it." 

Consolation  arose  and  walked  slowly  into  the 
house.  I  had  a  desire  to  follow  her,  for  I  knew 
she  had  some  plan  of  action  worthy  of  observation  ; 


250  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

but  I  was  obliged  to  wait  and  satisfy  myself  with 
watching  results. 

The  Professor  came  out  with  Thurston,  who 
tried  to  draw  him  into  a  discussion  with  Emmanuel 
Temple;  but  Mrs.  Blossom  turned  the  conversa- 
tional tide  just  as  it  was  tending  towards  the  dan- 
gerous reef  of  practical  Phrenology,  and  if  the 
infant  protoplasts  had  not  appeared  on  the  scene 
we  should  have  floated  on  in  safety.  But 
Thurston  called  them  to  him,  and  as  soon  as  they 
reached  the  piazza  he  told  them  to  see  which 
could  get  the  hammock  first ;  whereupon  there 
followed  a  scramble,  a  bump,  and  a  howl,  which 
brought  Maria  Williams  and  Miss  Norton  to  the 
rescue. 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  latter,  "  these  children 
have  changed  in  a  few  days.  When  I  first  knew 
them  they  never  quarrelled.  See  what  a  blow  my 
child  has  on  her  forehead  ;  look  at  that !  "  and  she 
brought  her  protoplast  to  where  we  were  sitting. 

"  Don't  look  at  me,"  I  begged,  "  I  am  not 
responsible." 

"  You  are  very  good  actors,  both  of  you,"  said 
Thurston ;  "  but  if  you  can  deceive  Emmanuel 
Temple,  you  can't  the  Professor." 

"  No,"  said  the  Professor,  "  I  am  not  deceived 
as  to  what  has  been  done  ;  but  I  cannot  tell  who 
has  done  it,  or  what  was  the  object." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  251 

*'  And  I  am  deceived  even  less  than  the  Profes- 
sor," said  Emmanuel  Temple.  "  Practical  Phren- 
ology is  all  right  for  those  who  enjoy  working  for 
nothing  ;  I  say  nothing  against  it  for  anybody  who 
likes  it.  And  talking  with  dead  men  is  all  right  for 
those  who  are  willing  to  expand  the  imagination  at 
the  expense  of  common  sense.  But  you  just  take 
those  ribbon-things  off  those  babies,  and  put  them 
back  in  one  room  where  nobody  ever  takes  any 
notice  of  them,  and  one  always  has  just  what  the 
other  has,  and  they  won't  fight.  I  doubt  if  they 
ever  had  their  faces  washed  so  many  times  in  a 
week  as  Maria  Williams  and  Miss  Norton  have 
washed  them  in  a  day  since  they  came  here.  You 
can  irritate  a  child  more  by  washing  its  face  than 
by  rubbing  its  ears,  because  the  first  operation 
lacks  novelty,  while  the  second  must  be  new  to 
most  children.  So  I  tell  Consolation  that  may  be 
it  is  washing  their  faces  so  often  that  makes  them 
so  cross,  —  that,  and  the  ribbon-things,  and  the 
candy.  But  two  days  at  a  poor  man's  boarding- 
house,  with  nobody  to  notice  them  much,  will  set 
them  back  just  where  they  were  before.  I  'm 
glad  they  did  fight ;  I  thought  they  were  just  like 
me." 

The  Professor's  long  fingers  moved  restlessly. 
He  looked  at  the  protoplasts,  who  had  gone  to 
their  father's  lap,  and  I  felt  that  he  wanted  to 


252  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

assure  himself  again  that  their  destructiveness  and 
combat! veness  had  been  secretly  developed. 

"  I  am  going  away  to-night,"  he  said  earnestly  ; 
"  and  before  I  go,  I  ask  most  humbly  if  any  one  in 
the  class  has  experimented  upon  those  children 
that  I  may  be  told.  With  you  all,  this  study  per- 
haps is  but  the  amusement  of  an  idle  hour ;  to  me 
it  is  the  science  of  all  sciences.  If  I  could  be 
deceived  in  regard  to  those  two  heads,  I  may  be 
deceived  at  any  time." 

"  Professor,  you  are  not  deceived !  "  cried  his 
wife. 

"  May  Blossom,  be  quiet !  " 

"  But  Professor  —  "  she  continued,  rising  from 
her  chair,  and  going  towards  him. 

"  May  Blossom,  sit  down !  " 

"  I  will  not  sit  down !  All  you  want  to  know 
you  will  learn  in  time.  Why  do  you  want  to  make 
yourself  so  disagreeable  just  as  we  are  going 
away  ? " 

"  This  is  not  a  moment  for  amiability,"  he  said 
solemnly.  "  I  have  chosen  a  science,  and  upon 
the  altar  of  that  science,  were  it  demanded  of  me, 
I  would  lay  friend  or  foe.  Once  more,  I  implore 
all  of  this  class  to  tell  me  the  truth  in  regard  to 
these  children.  I  wish  to  clear  myself  before 
Emmanuel  Temple  and  his  wife.  I  can  see  to 
whom  they  naturally  lay  this  change  in  the  dispo- 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  253 

sition  of  their  children,  although  a  mistaken  polite- 
ness may  forbid  them  to  speak  as  they  feel."  He 
wiped  away  the  dew  of  agitation  which  had  gathered 
upon  his  skull. 

I  looked  at  Thurston,  and  marvelled  at  his  brutal 
silence.  He  returned  my  look  coolly,  and  said :  — 

"  Clara  is  ready  for  any  confession  that  you  will 
agree  to  join." 

Emmanuel  Temple  turned  slowly  from  one  to 
another,  until  he  had  looked  at  each  person  present, 
and  then  said,  "  No  mistaken  politeness  ever  pre- 
vented me  from  speaking,  if  I  knew  what  I  wanted 
to  say." 

"  Somebody  has  told  me  in  confidence,"  said  the 
Professor,  "  that  two  members  of  this  class  did 
propose  to  develop  these  children  without  my 
knowledge ;  unless  these  members  admit  this  to 
Mr.  Temple,  I  shall  be  held  responsible." 

"  Fiddlesticks !  "  said  his  wife. 

"  That  is  an  expression  of  a  wholly  frivolous 
mind,  May  Blossom,"  he  said  severely. 

"You  just  come  in  and  help  me  pack  up  the 
heads,  and  you  may  get  a  hint  from  that  frivolous 
mind  of  mine  that  will  help  amazingly  in  discover- 
ing the  guilty  member  of  your  class." 

He  rose  reluctantly. 

"Were  there  ever  such  stupid  people!"  said 
Miss  Norton.  "  Here,  Red  Ribbon,  come  here  !  " 


254  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

and  the  embryonic  opponent  to  woman's  suffrage 
left  her  father's  knee  and  stood  by  Miss  Norton's 
side.  "  Now,  tell  me,"  she  said,  pushing  back  the 
elfish  locks  that  fell  over  the  round  brown  face, 
"  look  at  me,  and  tell  me  if  I  ever  rubbed  your 
head  or  your  ears.  Don't  look  at  Mr.  Thurston, 
look  at  me  !  " 

"  No,"  drawled  the  protoplast. 

"  Did  Mr.  Hardy  ?  " 

"No." 

"  Did  Mr.  Thurston  ?  " 

"  Oo  must  n't  tell !  "  said  my  protoplast  from  her 
father's  lap. 

"  My  child,"  said  the  Professor,  gravely,  "  those 
faculties  which  are  designated  in  Phrenology  as 
destructiveness  and  combativeness  are  found  here, 
just  back  of  the  ear.  We  all  know  that  somebody 
has  developed  yours  and  your  little  sister's  to 
almost  an  abnormal  degree,  in  an  incredibly  short 
period  of  time.  Who  has  accomplished  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  who  has  done  it  ?  "  said  Maria  Williams. 

"  Done  what?  "  asked  the  puzzled  opponent. 

"  Yubbed  your  ears,"  said  my  protoplast. 

"  Thurston  did." 

"  I  knew  I  was  doomed,"  said  Thurston,  laugh- 
ing. "  I  forgot  to  work  on  their  conscientiousness, 
after  all  the  bribes  I  have  given  them  ! " 

"  Explain  this  to  me  !  "  groaned  the  Professor: 
"  what  does  it  mean  ? " 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  255 

"It  means  that  you  should  always  look  out  for  a 
pupil  with  a  bump  of  mirthfulness  like  Mr.  Thurs- 
ton's,"  said  Mrs.  Blossom.  "  I  suspected  him 
from  the  first;  so  did  Mr.  Hardy." 

Thurston  was  so  convulsed  with  laughter  that  it 
was  some  time  before  he  could  speak.  When  he 
tried  to  gasp  out  an  explanation,  the  Professor 
said, — 

"  It  is  enough  that  the  truth  of  my  beloved 
science  has  been  proved.  Let  us  ignore  the  details, 
which  will  only  show  that  the  faculty  of  ridicule 
can,  when  inordinately  indulged,  produce  as  great 
a  disturbance  as  the  exercise  of  faculties  which  are 
considered  of  greater  consequence.  Let  us  go 
now,  May  Blossom,  and  pack  the  heads.  We 
shall  go  before  evening." 

Thurston  became  suddenly  serious,  and  said  he 
was  ready  to  make  a  full  tonfession  if  the  Profes- 
sor would  listen.  At  first  he  only  thought  of  rous- 
ing the  infant  protoplasts,  and  getting  the  ground 
ready  for  Miss  Norton  and  me ;  but  suddenly  he 
was  seized  with  the  temptation  to  develop  them 
into  little  Amazons,  and  throw  the  suspicion  upon 
us.  He  said,  no  matter  what  we  intended  to  make 
of  them,  their  propelling  faculties  must  be  sharp- 
ened;  and  after  all,  what  harm  had  been  done? 
None,  none.  One  more  fact  had  been  added  to 
the  colossal  heap  of  evidence  already  accumulated 


256  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

In  favor  of  practical  Phrenology.      He  ended  by 
saying,  — 

"  To  be  sure,  Emmanuel  Temple  is  not  con- 
vinced ;  but  to  what  science  can  we  point  which 
has  not  had  its  scoffers  ?  " 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  257 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE  Professor  changed  his  mind  and  did  not 
leave  that  night.  Thurston  would  not  listen 
one  moment  to  the  proposition.  When  I  left 
them,  he  was  trying  to  induce  the  Professor  to 
appear  as  Hamlet  at  the  masquerade  party,  and 
Mrs.  Blossom  as  Ophelia.  The  Professor  thought 
it  a  better  idea  to  hire  a  dress-suit  and  label  his 
head,  as  that  might  lead  many  to  become  inter- 
ested in  his  work.  His  wife  said  she  did  not  like 
to  put  straw  in  her  hair  because  it  was  so  hard 
to  get  out;  besides,  she  had  her  doubts  about 
•Ophelia's  being  a  dumpy  woman. 

Thurston  agreed  to  find  out  all  about  it  through 
Consolation,  who  was  in  communication  with 
Shakespeare ;  but  she  concluded  that  it  was  better 
for  her  to  consult  Miss  Norton  about  her  cos- 
tume, as  she  had  a  little  more  idea  of  the  fitness 
of  things  than  Thurston. 

Just  before  evening,  Miss  Norton  came  to  me 
looking  troubled,  and  taking  me  aside  said  that 


258  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

now  Mrs.  Temple  must  be  urged  to  stay ;  that  if 
she  went  it  was  because  she  was  angry,  and  I  must 
do  what  I  could  to  keep  her. 

"  I  am  sure,"  she  said,  "  that  Consolation  has 
found  out  some  of  my  plans,  and  she  will  spoil 
them  if  she  is  angry.  Thurston  cares  nothing  for 
consequences  ;  he  wants  her  to  go.  angry  or  pleas- 
ant. You  must  urge  him  to  ask  her  to  stay.  Mrs. 
Moore  will  not  do  it,  and  I  almost  wish  we  could 
shut  Consolation  up !  She  can  spoil  everything  if 
she  finds  out  our  plans." 

I  had  not  asked  Miss  Norton  anything  about 
her  projects,  but  I  had  expected  she  would  take 
me  into  her  confidence ;  yet  I  could  not  help  re- 
specting the  delicacy  which  withheld  her  from 
telling  me  any  plainer  that  she  had  discovered 
Thurston's  weakness.  I  was  far  from  pleased  at 
the  idea  of  again  being  obliged  to  try  to  prolong 
Mrs.  Temple's  visit ;  but  I  could  not  help  having 
a  curiosity,  if  no  more,  in  Miss  Norton's  plans,' 
which  I  felt  confident  must  be  beyond  common- 
place, for  the  few  times  she  had  referred  to  them 
I  thought  she  looked  almost  frightened ;  and  once 
I  had  said  to  her,  — 

"  Remember,  we  both  look  upon  Thurston  as  a 
boy ;  but  he  may  have  the  heart  of  a  man.  The 
most  manly  men  I  have  ever  known  were  the  most 
simple." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  259 

"I  understand,"  she  said  hastily.  "  You  want 
me  to  tell  you  what  I  intend  to  do,  and  then  op- 
pose it.  No,  I  cannot  tell  you.  I  ought  not  if  I 
would,  because  I  have  promised  it  shall  be  kept  a 
secret ;  but  who  can  keep  anything  from  Conso- 
lation Temple,  if  she  pleases  to  know  it  ?  There 
is  but  one  thing  to  do  :  she  must  remain  here,  and 
then  she  will  be  so  busy  on  her  costume  she  won't 
find  time  to  interfere  with  my  arrangements.  But 
if  she  leaves  The  Poplars  she  will  stay  in  the  town, 
and  I  know  she  will  ruin  all.  I  have  said  nothing 
to  Thurston  in  favor  of  her  staying  for  the  party, 
but  much  in  favor  of  her  going;  now,  if  I  suddenly 
change  my  mind  and  urge  him  to  have  her  stay, 
what  will  he  think  of  me?  But  he  knows  that 
you  have  already  fallen  under  the  spell  of  her  evil 
eye,  and  he  will  not  be  surprised  that  you  should 
want  to  delay  her  going." 

"That  all  sounds  very  plausible,"  I  admitted. 
"  I  did  ask  him  to  invite  her  here  after  his  aunt 
went ;  I  have  never  insinuated  that  I  would  like  to 
have  her  go,  as  you  have  done.  I  will  tell  him 
that  I  hope  she  will  make  up  her  mind  to  go  to  the 
party,  just  as  if  I  took  it  for  granted  that  she  was 
expected  to  stay.  How  will  that  do  ? " 

I  was  pleased  that  Miss  Norton  had  taken  notice 
that  I  often  talked  with  Mrs.  Temple;  I  had  be- 
lieved that  she  had  been  too  indifferent  to  notice 


260  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

how  I  had  been  occupied.  But  I  was  rather  forced 
to  accept  again  the  old  idea  of  indifference  when 
she  said,  — 

"  That  will  be  just  the  thing,  because  it  was 
Thurston's  idea,  that  of  your  falling  under  the 
spell  of  her  evil  eye ;  and  he  will  not  be  in  the 
least  surprised  when  you  ask  him  to  urge  her  to 
stay.  Now,  I  depend  upon  you,  and  I  know  how 
faithfully  you  keep  a  promise  if  you  once  make  it. 
I  shall  not  give  one  more  thought  to  her ;  and  if 
you  knew  all  I  had  on  my  mind  in  connection  with 
to-morrow  night,  you  would  not  wonder  that  I  am 
a  little  nervous.  And  if  it  should  turn  out  dis- 
astrously, you  will  not  believe  that  I  did  it  to  cause 
Thurston  pain  ?  " 

"  I  will  try  not  to  think  so." 

She  smiled  and  said,  "  I  can  ask  no  more  than 
that." 

Very  soon  I  had  an  opportunity  to  seat  myself 
beside  Consolation  Temple,  where  I  intended 
Thurston  to  find  me.  When  he  came  near,  I 
said,  — 

"  I  have  been  trying  to  make  Mrs.  Temple  be- 
lieve that  it  will  be  impossible  for  her  to  disguise 
herself  to-morrow  night  so  that  I  cannot  recognize 
her." 

There  was  something  in  this  which  appeared  to 
amuse  him  very  much ;  he  laughed  outright,  but 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  261 

began  in  a  moment  to  guess  what  character  Con- 
solation had  thought  of  assuming ;  but  later,  when 
he  found  me  alone,  he  said,  — 

"It  seems  to  me  that  even  a  mind  wrecked  by 
typhoid  fever  ought  to  be  able  to  grasp  a  little 
more  than  you  do.  But  if  you  can  bear  the  wrath 
of  Sarah  Jackson  Moore  and  Clara  Norton,  why  I 
can.  And  now  that  you  have  managed  to  keep 
your  siren,  when  I  should  have  arranged  to  have 
her  go,  remember  that  she  is  on  your  hands.  If 
you  had  said  that  it  was  impossible  for  you  to  dis- 
guise yourself  so  she  could  not  recognize  you,  you 
would  have  hit  the  bulls-eye,  John ;  but  Consola- 
tion Temple  may  be  controlled  to-morrow  night  by 
a  hundred  dead  magicians,  for  all  you  know,  and 
I  don't  want  her  rinding  out  my  plans." 

"Plans?"  said  I. 

"  Yes,  plans  in  which  I  needed  you ;  but  now  I 
only  ask  you  to  devote  yourself  to  Consolation, 
and  keep  her  away  from  me.  There  will  be  many 
more  interesting  young  ladies  at  the  party  than 
she,  even  for  a  cold-blooded  student ;  but  you  will 
have  no  chance  now.  She  has  put  her  worst  eye 
on  you,  and  you  are  as  hard  to  save  as  a  sparrow 
when  it  begins  to  wheel  round  the  head  of  a  snake. 
The  spirits  of  the  mighty  dead  are  after  you  ! 
Good  day." 

Before    Fortune    had   taken   to   cudgelling   me, 


262  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

nothing  annoyed  me  more  than  to  be  misunder- 
stood ;  but  as  her  caresses  ceased,  I  found  a  grim 
satisfaction  in  having  my  motives  misread,  my 
intentions  misinterpreted.  I  was  pleased  that 
Thurston  thought  I  was  anxious  to  have  Mrs. 
Temple  stay  for  the  party,  when  it  was  Miss  Norton 
who  desired  it.  I  felt  that  I  had  a  private  under- 
standing with  circumstances  which  no  one  else  there 
enjoyed.  Even  Miss  Norton,  I  believed,  thought 
that  I  had  listened  too  long  to  the  siren's  voice ; 
but  at  that  very  moment  Fate,  the  mother  of  events, 
was  preparing  to  teach  me  what  every  one  must 
learn  sooner  or  later  —  that  she  holds  in  her  hand 
that  which  may  astonish  and  confound ;  and  she 
but  awaits  her  own  pleasure  as  to  the  hour  of  its 
delivery. 

I  did  not  see  Miss  Norton  again  that  evening, 
which  was  a  disappointment.  I  wanted  to  tell  her 
that  Consolation  was  not  only  going  to  stay,  but 
was  in  a  most  gracious  mood.  I  felt  that  I 
deserved  at  least  a  little  appreciation  for  diplo- 
macy, but  evidently  she  had  such  confidence  in  me 
that  she  literally  had  not  given  one  more  thought 
to  Consolation  or  me. 

I  did  not  consider  Thurston  in  his  usual  good 
spirits,  although  he  divided  his  attentions  between 
two  very  pretty  but  immature-looking  young  ladies 
who  had  come  some  distance  to  be  at  the  party. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  263 

He  told  me  that  Miss  Norton  was  busy  and  would 
not  be  disturbed  even  by  him,  and  I  went  out  and 
walked  awhile  up  and  down  the  path  beside  the 
grim  poplars  with  a  faint  hope  that  she  would 
come  out  and  say  something  about  Consolation ; 
but  she  did  not  come,  and  I  was  about  to  go  in, 
when  I  met  Paul  St.  Clair. 

"  Your  restless  steps  did  not  fall  upon  the  ear 
you  intended  them  for,"  he  said;  "but  they  called 
to  you  somebody  who  is  more  interested  in  you, 
perhaps." 

"  Possibly  the  very  person  I  want,"  said  I,  taking 
the  hand  he  offered. 

"  Come,  let  us  go  down  in  the  garden  where  you 
sit  with  Consolation.  Do  you  know,  my  boy,"  he 
went  on,  as  we  sat  down,  "  that  there  is  as  much 
difference  in  chairs,  and  sofas  and  garden-seats  as 
there  is  in  individuals  ?  Some  are  destined  to  play 
parts  of  great  importance  in  the  comedy  of  life  ; 
while  others  are  made  and  are  left  awhile  to 
encumber  the  earth,  and  then  depart,  simply  having 
shown  for  a  time  the  fashion  of  their  day,  whatever 
it  was.  Have  you  noticed  this  seat  ?  It  is  formed 
by  a  large,  flat  rock,  and  the  back  is  of  solid  oak. 
No  two  persons  as  they  look  at  it,  or  recall  it,  ever 
see  the  same  person  sitting  here.  Mrs.  Moore 
sees  always  the  bent  form  and  shrivelled  face  of 
her  husband ;  for  here  is  where  he  sat  alone  and 


264  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

shook  in  secret  as  he  imagined  the  cold  river  that 
he  was  nearing.  A  selfish  life,  especially  at  the 
end,  is  never  pleasant  to  contemplate.  Thurston 
sees  always  Clara  Norton.  And  you  ?  Whom 
did  you  dream  of  in  this  seat  when  Consolation 
came  for  the  five  dollars  ?  Never  mind  the  ques- 
tion. Go  down  to  the  tomb  of  the  man  who 
planted  the  poplars  here,  and  ask  him  who  it  is 
that  he  sees  when  he  returns  to  sit  upon  this 
seat." 

"  Would  he  tell  me  if  I  went  ? "  I  ventured  to 
ask. 

"  Possibly  not ;  but  if  you  go  you  will  see, 
standing  apart  from  the  other  graves,  a  small,  dark 
headstone;  it  bears  no  date,  —  only  the  words, 
'  Hester,  aged  20.'  In  his  memory  it  is  Hester 
who  sits  always  on  this  seat.  But  do  not  fear  a 
story ;  it  was  not  for  that  I  came  to  you,  but  to 
tell  you  that  I  think  I  may  be  of  service  to  you 
to  morrow  night.  Make  no  preparation,  but  come 
to  me  for  anything  that  you  need." 

"  Thurston  has  been  kind  enough  to  get  me 
everything,  if  you  refer  to  costume ;  but  if  you 
would  be  so  good  as  to  give  me  a  sign  so  I  shall 
know  you,  I  will  keep  the  secret.  I  feel  as  if 
everybody  will  have  the  advantage  of  me,  for 
Thurston  says  he  can  tell  me  in  a  moment  by  my 
thin  legs ;  and  if  I  pad  them,  there  still  remain  my 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  265 

hands.  I  will  own  to  you  that  I  am  not  going  to 
put  on  the  costume  he  thinks  I  shall  wear,  but 
have  sent  for  another." 

"  Send  for  nothing !  "  he  said  earnestly,  "  but 
leave  it  to  me.  We  will  meet  them  on  their  own 
ground,  my  boy  !  Let  nothing  surprise  you." 

"You  speak  as  if  you  knew  of  something  which 
is  hidden  from  me."  Had  he  found  out  any  of 
Miss  Norton's  plans? 

"People  who  never  allow  themselves  to  be 
surprised  lose  a  great  deal.  I  shall  tell  you 
nothing." 

"  I  can  wait.  I  am  willing  to  be  surprised."  I 
was  laughing  at  the  curious  expression  in  his 
face. 

I  wanted  very  much  to  stay  and  continue  our 
talk,  but  felt  obliged  to  return  to  the  house,  where 
I  found  the  Professor  labelling  his  skull  for  the 
instruction  of  the  immature  maidens.  Thurston 
said  Consolation  was  preparing  her  warpaint  for 
the  next  day,  or  was  out  of  the  house  looking  for 
prey.  He  had  not  seen  her  since  dinner,  and 
Emmanuel  was  trying  to  swing  himself  to  sleep 
rather  than  face  the  facts  the  Professor  had  for 
him.  I  wished  I  had  stayed  in  the  garden  with 
Paul  St.  Clam 

I  could  not  feel  any  enthusiasm  for  practical 
Phrenology  while  my  whole  mind  was  bent  on  tak- 


266  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

ing  up  and  discarding  speculations  concerning 
Miss  Norton  and  her  plans  for  the  following  even- 
ing. Why  had  I  not  detained  her  long  enough  to 
ask  her  permission  to  tell  Thurston  of  our  con- 
tract ?  I  could  not  tell  him  without  her  consent, 
and  although  I  had  not  so  much  as  a  hint  of  her 
plans,  I  felt,  even  before  I  met  Paul  St.  Clair  in 
the  garden,  that  I  was  concerned  in  them. 

I  passed  a  restless  night,  and  in  the  morning  was 
exasperated  to  find  that  Miss  Norton  had  gone  to 
the  city,  where  she  must  spend  the  day,  but  would 
be  back  early  in  the  evening.  I  believed  that  she 
thought  this  the  most  effectual  way  to  avoid  me. 

If  I  passed  a  dull  day,  it  was  not  the  same  with 
Thurston.  He  helped  the  gardener  to  decorate  the 
house,  gave  orders  for  illuminating  the  garden,  and 
whatever  he  touched  he  seemed  to  deal  with  it  as 
if  he  had  served  a  careful  apprenticeship  to  that 
occupation  alone.  When  he  moved  the  huge 
plants  that  had  been  brought  from  the  conserva- 
tory, or  greenhouse,  he  handled  them  carefully, 
and  spoke  of  the  growth  of  each  as  if  it  was  of 
personal  interest  to  him.  His  hands  seemed  to 
possess  the  sensitive  strength  of  the  elephant's 
trunk.  He  could  fasten  a  flower  on  lace  as  taste- 
fully as  a  woman,  or  he  could  move  a  heavy 
weight  with  the  ease  of  an  Ajax. 

As  we  walked  together  through  the  garden  in  the 


A  Fearless  Investigator^  267 

twilight,  I  noticed  that  no  light  was  near  the 
stone  seat.  "Why  is  this?"  I  asked.  "This 
place  where  I  should  most  naturally  sit  down  is 
left  without  light  of  any  kind,  while  every  other 
spot  is  illuminated." 

He  looked  pleased  and  said,  "  That  is  the  seat 
you  like  best  then.  If  anything  happened,  would  n't 
it  be  more  likely  to  happen  there  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  garden  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  if  there  were  no  light  there." 

"  I  want  to  ask  you  something,"  he  said,  as  we 
seated  ourselves  upon  the  broad  rock.  "  You  have 
not  seen  Clara  alone  a  moment  since  you  came 
here,  have  you  ?  " 

I  was  so  unprepared  for  his  question  that  for  a 
moment  I  was  tempted  to  give  him  a  surprise  in 
return,  by  telling  him  I  had  seen  her  long  enough 
to  induce  her  to  marry  me ;  but  instead,  I  said 
coolly,  "  Yes,  I  have  seen  her  alone  more  than  once, 
if  I  remember  rightly." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  he  said  hastily,  "  I  saw  you  once  to- 
gether. John,  you  have  not  said  —  you  have  not 
said  anything  to  her  about  —  " 

I  felt  almost  as  if  the  role  of  the  hypocrite  and 
the  thief  had  been  condensed  in  one,  and  that  I 
was  to  enact  it.  Yet  I  had  no  wish  to  appear  to 
him  different  from  what  I  was ;  I  would  prefer  not 
to  deceive  him,  and  I  had  stolen  nothing  from  him. 


268  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  You  have  told  her !  "  he  said. 

"  Told  her  what  ?  "  I  asked  with  a  little  impa- 
tience, for  the  same  thought  was  not  in  both  our 
minds. 

"  What  I  would  not  have  told  anybody  else  in 
the  world  but  you !  Yes,  you  have  told  her ! 
That  is  why  she  is  so  kind  and  gentle,  and  never 
makes  fun  of  me  now.  John  Hardy,  you  have 
told  her ! " 

"  That  is  intended  for  an  assertion,  I  suppose," 
I  returned  mildly. 

He  grasped  my  hand.  "  We  are  friends,  John, 
and  one  friend  could  not  insult  another.  I  will  not 
ask  your  pardon.  Tell  me,  don't  you  think  that 
avenue  will  look  pretty  swell  when  it 's  all 
lighted?" 

"  Quite  swell,"  I  assented,  and  I  envied  the 
mind  that  was  not  so  old  but  it  could  turn  and 
cover  the  mortification  of  the  man  with  boyish 
nonsense.  "  Now,  tell  me,  did  n't  you  expect  Miss 
Norton  back  to  dinner  ?" 

"  Certainly,  but  she  did  not  come."  It  was  his 
own  natural  voice  again. 

"  I  wanted  to  see  her  very  much  before  evening, 
but  it  is  evident  that  she  does  not  mean  that  we 
shall  know  her.  Do  you  suppose  I  could  tell  her  if 
she  were  masked  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know." 


A  Fearless  Investigator,  269 

"  Could  you  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  like  that !  " 

"  You  imagine  you  could.  But  let  her  wear 
gloves,  high-heeled  shoes,  and  cover  her  hair,  or 
put  on  dark  hair,  and  I  '11  wager  a  diamond  that 
Robert  Ryan  would  not  know  her." 

"  Robert  Ryan  !  "  he  said,  savagely.  "  I  did  not 
say  he  would ;  but  I  should  know  her  if  she  were 
covered  with  rags  or"  royal  purple  !  " 

"  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  how ;  for  if  I  don't 
see  her  before  she  is  arrayed,  I  must  have  some 
means  of  identification." 

"  I  love  her,"  he  said  simply. 

"  That  is  nothing  that  could  be  imparted;  I  fear 
if  that  is  the  only  means  you  cannot  assist  me 
any." 

"  I  don't  want  you  to  know  her,  or  anybody 
else ;  all  the  fun  will  be  spoilt  if  everybody  is  go- 
ing to  know  everybody.  You  will  find  three  com- 
plete costumes  in  your  room,  and  I  don't  know  one 
of  them." 

I  thought  this  very  thoughtful,  and  owned  that  I 
had  felt  a  trifle  depressed  at  the  idea  that  he  would 
have  the  advantage  of  me. 

"  Remember  one  thing,"  he  said,  as  we  returned 
to  the  house,  —  "I  hold  you  responsible  for  your 
siren.  You  must  be  able  to  account  for  her  every 
minute  of  the  time  until  we  unmask.  As  soon  as  I 


270  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

find  her  out,  I  will  put  a  card  in  the  orange-tree  on 
the  right  hand  side  of  the  door  as  you  go  in  the 
drawing-room.  Look  out  for  her !  The  Emma 
Liz  came  to  me  this  afternoon  and  said  she  knows 
somebody  is  going  to  spring  some  kind  of  a  trap 
on  me,  and  the  spirits  are  going  to  help.  If  Con- 
solation Temple  plays  any  of  her  ghost-tricks  on 
me,  I  want  you  to  know  just  how  she  does  it.  We 
are  honest  investigators,  you  know.  We  will  give 
her  every  chance,  but  if  we  catch  her  playing  any 
tricks,  —  well,  we  '11  watch  her,  old  fellow  !  You 
are  the  one  who  wanted  her  to  stay ;  and  you  can't 
expect  to  dance,  my  boy,  and  not  give  a  penny  to 
the  fiddler." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  271 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

I  HAD  just  decided  to  array  myself  in  the  hand- 
some dress  of  Charles  I.,  when  Paul  St.  Clair 
came  and  said  he  wanted  me  to  appear  as  a  monk. 

"  Have  you  a  cowl  and  a  tonsure  in  your 
pocket?"  I  »ked. 

He  pointed  to  a  large  screen  I  had  never  seen  in 
the  room  before. 

"  Do  not  look  behind  it,"  he  cried  hastily,  with 
a  queer  smile,  "but  ask  with  courtesy  and  con- 
fidence for  anything  you  need.  See,  there  conies 
your  monk's  suit!"  and  while  he  spoke  a  complete 
costume  was  thrown  outside  the  screen.  He 
helped  me  into  it  with  great  interest,  and  did  not 
appear  surprised  that  it  fitted  perfectly. 

"  Has  Miss  Norton  seen  this?"  I  asked. 

"  No  ;  why  should  she  have  seen  it?" 

"  I  shall  connect  her  with  everything  mysterious 
that  takes  place  to-night,  but  Thurston  will 
accuse  Consolation  Temple.  Who  is  behind  that 

? " 


272  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  We  are  late,"  he  said,  "let  us  go  down." 

"  Sit  down  awhile,  I  am  in  no  haste.  Tell  me, 
where  is  your  costume  ?  " 

"  No  masquerading  for  me,"  he  said,  laughing 
softly.  "  Besides,  I  see  that  the  geniuses  in  the 
house  will  not  even  wear  a  domino." 

"  You  mean  the  Professor,  and  Emmanuel 
Temple  ? " 

"  Yes." 

"  I  rather  respect  them  for  it ;  they  are  very 
uncomfortable,  these  dominos,  and  one  would 
make  the  Professor  so  warm  his  labels  would  not 
stick." 

He  led  me  to  the  light,  and  looked  me  carefully 
over.  "You  won't  do.  Go  to  the  screen  and  have 
your  hands  covered." 

"  Imagine  a  monk  with  gloves  on  !  " 

"  Don't  get  gloves,  but  have  a  little  more  flesh 
put  on." 

"That  will  take  time." 

"  Five  minutes.  Go  put  your  hand  behind  the 
screen." 

I  did  as  he  commanded,  and  in  an  instant  I  felt 
cold  fingers  moving  rapidly  over  my  hand. 

"  Now  the  other." 

I  offered  the  other,  and  felt  the  same  sensation. 

"  Don't  look  at  them,"  he  said,  and  I  came  back 
and  sat  down,  keeping  my  eyes  upon  the  ceiling. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  273 

"Let  me  see  them,"  said  he,  taking  my  hand, 
which  he  rubbed  gently.  "  No,  go  back  :  it  won't 
bear  handling." 

I  returned,  and  again  put  one  hand  and  then  the 
other  inside  the  screen. 

"  Make  them  older  and  browner,"  he  said, 
addressing  some  one  I  could  not  see. 

For  a  few  minutes  the  cold  fingers  manipulated 
both  my  hands. 

"  May  I  look  now  ?  "  I  inquired,  as  I  left  the 
screen. 

"  Certainly.  I  don't  want  to  make  it  at  all 
mysterious;  but  you  are  so  ignorant  and  preju- 
diced, I  thought  if  you  knew  that  it  was  the  spirits 
at  work  materializing  for  you,  you  might  object." 

I  seized  both  his  hands.  "  I  have  not  the  nerve 
of  a  perfectly  well  man  yet,"  I  said  helplessly, 
"  deal  gently  with  me." 

He  took  my  hands  in  his.  They  looked  both 
aged  and  brown. 

"  If  you  are  a  coward,  I  can  have  nothing  to  do 
with  you;  not  because  I  will  not,  but  because  it 
will  be  impossible.  There  are  willing  spirits  who 
will  help  you.  Are  you  afraid  of  a  little  brown 
skin,  which  is  no  more  a  reality  than  the  cowl  you 
wear  so  contentedly?" 

He  spoke  lightly,  but  I  felt  that  he  thought  me 
cowardly. 

18 


274  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  This  is  all  rather  new  to  me,"  I  observed,  a  little 
stiffly,  "but  I  will  try  to  keep  pace  with  the  times.*' 

"  Good  !  "  he  said  cheerfully.  "  Put  on  your 
mask,  and  we  will  descend  upon  them." 

The  rooms  below  were  already  well  filled,  and 
the  notes  of  a  seductive  waltz  issued  from  the 
large  drawing-room.  I  turned  to  speak  to  my 
companion,  but  he  had  disappeared,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  enter  alone.  When  I  left  my  room  I 
felt  disagreeably  conscious  of  my  costume,  and 
wished  myself  in  the  handsome  suit  of  England's 
unhappy  Charles  ;  but  when  I  found  myself  in  the 
midst  of  the  masqueraders,  I  looked  down  at  my 
gray  robe  and  aged  hands  with  a  strong  feeling  of 
confidence.  My  first  thought  was  to  look  for  Miss 
Norton. 

Among  the  dancers  I  discovered  a  tall,  graceful 
figure  which  I  took  to  be  Consolation  Temple. 
The  dress  was  as  gorgeous  as  the  Queen  of  Sheba 
wore  when  she  went  to  Jerusalem  with  the  hard 
questions  for  Solomon.  Emmanuel  Temple  was 
leaning  against  the  wall,  looking  with  a  half-puz- 
zled expression  at  the  dancers.  I  approached  him 
and  laid  my  shrivelled  hand  upon  his  arm  ;  then, 
assuming  a  feeble  voice,  I  said,  — 

"  My  son,  can  you  tell  me  who  that  graceful  per- 
son is  whose  attire  even  outshines  the  Queen  of 
Sheba?" 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  275 

"  No,  sir ;  I  can't,"  Temple  returned  simply. 

"  I  thought  perhaps  it  might  be  your  wife.  Are 
you  not  Mr.  Temple  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  name  is  Temple,  and  that  may  be  my 
wife  ;  you  know  as  well  as  I  do ;  and  you  may  be 
Thurston  for  all  I  can  tell.  I  have  not  yet  made 
out  one  person  except  May  Blossom." 

"  I  should  be  glad,  my  son,  to  know  even  one. 
Could  you  point  her  out  to  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  could ;  but  she  might  not  want  you  to 
know  her,  so  I  won't  do  it." 

I  turned,  and  was  going  to  the  orange-tree  to  see 
if  there  was  any  information  for  me  from  Thurs- 
ton, when  it  occurred  to  me  that  if  he  saw  me  take 
a  card  from  there  he  would  be  able  to  identify  me 
immediately. 

"  Have  you  seen  the  Professor  ?  "  asked  Emman- 
uel. "  You  know  Professor  Blossom,  don't  you, 
Mr.  Friar?" 

"  I  do  not  know  him,  but  I  should  be  glad  to  do 
so,"  I  replied,  always  speaking  feebly. 

"  I  suppose  priests  never  lie,"  he  said  drily.  "  I 
wonder  if  you  are  Thurston  Moore  ?  There  is  the 
Professor  talking  to  that  Quaker  lady." 

Never  had  the  practical  Phrenologist  looked 
more  like  a  death's-head.  His  black,  well-fitting 
suit  and  the  broad  expanse  of  white  linen  caused 
him  to  look  paler  than  usual ;  and  the  few  bumps 


276  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

which  he  had  labelled  looked  at  a  distance  as  if 
they  might  read,  "  Human  skull  of  an  adult  male." 
When  I  had  an  opportunity  to  speak  with  him,  I 
asked  if  he  would  go  to  the  orange-tree  on  the 
right  of  the  drawing-room  as  you  enter,  and  if 
there  was  a  card  there  hidden  in  its  leaves,  to  be 
good  enough  to  take  it  to  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  and 
ask  her  to  deliver  it  only  to  her  Father  Confessor  ; 
and,  I  added,  "  Will  you  be  good  enough  to  put  it 
in  an  envelope  so  the  Queen  cannot  read  it  ?  " 

He  said  he  would  be  glad  to  serve  me,  and 
asked  me  to  tell  him  where  he  should  find  the 
Queen.  I  pointed  her  out,  and  he  left  me  for  the 
orange-tree. 

I  found  a  seat  where  I  could  watch  the  woman  I 
believed  to  be  Consolation ;  for  I  feared  she  would 
open  the  envelope  and  read  my  card  if  she  had  the 
opportunity,  and  Thurston  might  write  something 
that  he  would  not  care  to  have  fall  under  her  eye. 
A  king  and  a  jester  passed  me,  and  bowed  as  they 
went  by.  Presently  the  jester  returned  and  whis- 
pered in  my  ear,  — 

"  Holy  Father,  I  once  a  jumble  stole,  and  ate  it 
all  but  just  the  hole." 

I  replied,  "  If  thou,  my  son,  hadst  eaten  the  hole, 
naught  could  save  thy  guilty  soul." 

The  jester  threw  back  his  head  and  laughed,  and 
I  knew  the  honest  ring.  Thurston  had  disguised 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  277 

his  voice  when  he  spoke,  so  I  was  deceived ;  but 
his  laugh  had  betrayed  him.  The  king  perhaps 
had  discovered  him  at  the  same  moment,  for  he 
said  impatiently,  — 

"  Come,  Fool !  " 

A  few  minutes  later  the  jester  passed  me  danc- 
ing with  a  graceful  maiden  in  the  costume  of  our 
great  grandmothers.  The  figure  seemed  as  light 
as  air,  and  part  of  the  time  I  was  sure  the  tiny 
slippered  feet  scarce  touched  the  floor.  But  the 
whole  head  was  hidden  in  an  old-time  bonnet  so 
deep  that,  as  they  flew  by,  I  could  not  even  catch 
sight  of  any  domino. 

I  saw  the  professor  give  the  Queen  of  Sheba  an 
envelope,  which  she  hid  in  her  bosom.  I  had 
hoped  she  would  put  it  in  her  belt,  for  I  had  seen 
Consolation  often  put  letters  in  her  belt  as  she  had 
the  ten-dollar  bill.  As  if  Consolation  Temple  was 
to  be  as  easily  identified  as  Thurston  Moore  !  I 
went  slowly  towards  her,  and  when  I  knew  that 
she  saw  me,  I  whispered,  — 

"  Thou  hast  come  to  Jerusalem,  O  Queen,  in  all 
thy  splendor ;  but  where  is  the  Solomon  for  thee 
to  admire  ?  " 

"Perhaps  in  thee,  Father,  I  may  find  his  wis- 
dom, if  not  his  glory." 

The  voice  was  not  Consolation's.  It  was  proud, 
but  well-bred.  I  had  heard  it,  but  where  ? 


278  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  Thou  mockest  me,  my  daughter,"  I  said  humbly. 

"  I  envy  thee,  Holy  Father." 

"  Explain,  dear  daughter." 

"  Thou  canst  go  to  every  one  here  and  make 
him  confess  who  he  is." 

"  Will  they  not  deceive  me  ?  " 

"  How  dare  they  ?  I  am  brought  a  letter  and 
told  to  give  it  only  to  my  Father  Confessor.  It 
may  have  my  name  within,  yet  I  deliver  it  without 
breaking  the  seal  for  fear  of  thee  " ;  and  she  handed 
me  the  envelope  the  professor  had  given  her. 

"  A  message  from  Sheba,  your  Majesty  ?  "  I 
asked  in  a  feeble  voice. 

"  I  know  nothing  about  it,  Father." 

I  broke  the  seal,  and  read  these  words  :  "  Dear 
Abdlard  :  Keep  an  eye  on  He"lo'ise." 

At  first  I  thought  of  but  one  thing,  —  that 
Thurst;on  must  have  discovered  me  immediately  ; 
and  I  had  thought  my  disguise  perfect,  and 
nattered  myself  that  not  even  Nanny  could  have 
recognized  my  voice  ! 

"  Dear  AbeMard !  "  How  did  he  know  me  ? 
And  did  he  mean  anything  by  calling  Consolation 
"  Hdloise  "  ?  He  had  promised  to  tell  me  how  I 
should  know  Consolation  Temple,  and  he  had  only 
told  me  that  he  had  recognized  me. 

"You  are  troubled,  Father,"  said  the  Queen. 
"  Speak  to  Rachel :  she  is  much  wiser  than  I." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  279 

She  turned  to  a  Jewish  maiden  beside  her,  who 
said,  — 

"  How  can  I  help  you,  Father  ?  " 

At  this  same  moment  the  Queen  said,  — 

"  Oh,  Rachel,  smell  the  roses  !  " 

I  turned,  and  there  passed  by  two  dancers  so 
close  I  could  have  touched  the  lady's  gown ;  and 
she  was  all  I  saw  after  the  first  glance,  for  I  knew 
every  fold  of  that  soft  white  gown  and  fine  lace 
mantle  embroidered  with  flowers.  And  the  sweet 
red  roses  on  her  bosom,  throwing  out  their  rich 
perfume  as  they  passed,  —  where  did  they  grow, 
those  garden  roses  ?  I  forgot  the  Queen  of  Sheba 
and  Rachel.  I  saw  only  the  retreating  figure  of 
Jeannette  Carlton,  and  I  walked  to  a  quiet  corner 
and  sat  down. 

In  a  moment  Paul  St.  Clair  came  by  and  said, 
"  I  told  you  to  look  out  for  surprises.  What  has 
happened  ?  " 

"  A  phantom  has  gone  by,  and  I  wish  it  had 
been  like  the  Priest  and  the  Levite." 

''  Oh  !  you  would  have  been  on  the  other  side  if 
it  had  !  What  did  the  Queen  say  to  you  ?  There 
is  another  Queen  wants  to  see  you,  and  she  is 
almost  in  despair.  I  was  on  the  point  of  helping 
her,  but  it  is  good  for  people  to  work  a  little  for 
themselves.  To-night  will  act  upon  a  few  lives  in 
this  house  as  some  of  these  warm  days  that  come 


2  So  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

suddenly  in  early  spring  act  upon  the  trees  in  the 
garden  that  have  stood  so  long  apparently  dead. 
Ah,  it  is  interesting  to  be  in  it,  and  yet  care  for  no 
part  of  it !  How  would  you  like  to  be  invisible, 
and  follow  each  one  here,  and  sit  and  listen  with- 
out being  seen  ?  " 

"  That  is  an  advantage  that  Nature  is  too 
honorable  to  make  a  possibility,  knowing  how 
mean  mankind  can  be,"  I  said  bitterly. 

"If  Nature  does  not  forbid  such  people  as 
Mandy  Litchfield  to  make  a  human  body  for  a 
spirit  to  make  a  call  in,  —  as  she  has  done,  you 
very  well  know,  —  then  she  dare  not  forbid  the  un- 
making of  that  same  body  ;  for  no  spirit  would  con- 
sent long  to  remain  in  a  material  form  after  he  has 
been  out  of  it ;  and  if  the  spirits  can  unmake  the 
bodies  of  the  Emma  Liz's  two  aunts,  why  can't 
they  dissolve  your  body  and  materialize  it  again  to 
order  ?  " 

I  staggered  to  my  feet. 

"  Where  are  you  going?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  am  going  to  speak  to  Emmanuel  Temple;  I 
feel  the  need  of  talking  to  a  materialist." 

He  laughed  and  said.  "  Conquer  your  imagina- 
tion !  Make  it  your  slave  instead  of  allowing  it  to 
be  your  master.  Bring  yourself  near  enough  to 
anything,  and  it  has  no  power  to  affright  you. 
Take  the  red  roses  in  your  hand,  and  see  if  they 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  281 

can  make  you  tremble.  It  is  not  the  natural  rose 
you  fear,  but  the  flower  that  grows  in  your  imagina- 
tion. If  you  need  me,  come  to  your  room,  —  you 
will  find  me  there.  Tell  me  how  many  persons 
have  you  found  out  ?  " 

"Only  Thurston." 

"  You  are  sure  of  him  ?  " 

"  Yes,  he  is  the  king's  jester.  I  don't  know  the 
king." 

"  He  is  nobody  you  ever  saw.  Have  n't  you 
discovered  Consolation  ? " 

"  No ;  but  Thurston  has  found  me  out." 

"  What  makes  you  think  so?" 

"  See  what  he  has  written,"  and  I  handed  him 
the  card. 

"And  after  that  you  could  not  find  Consola- 
tion ?  " 

"  No." 

"  He  calls  her  He"loise." 

"  Which  is  quite  natural,  as  he  calls  me 
Aboard." 

"  Oh  !  you  stupid  fellow,  Consolation  never  would 
have  been  so  dull.  Go  look  for  a  nun  !  " 

"It  was  indeed  stupid,  I  acknowledge;  but  I 
was  convinced  she  was  the  Queen  of  Sheba." 

"The  Queen  is  quite  a  different  person,  believe 
me.  Come  to  your  room  in  fifteen  minutes  and 
change  your  costume,  if  you  think  Thurston  has 


282  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

discovered  you.  I  '11  have  another  ready.  Come 
anyway  in  fifteen  minutes.  You  may  regret  it  if 
you  don't.  Remember !  " 

After  he  left,  I  sat  there  looking  about  for  a  nun, 
for  I  was  sure  I  had  seen  one  when  I  first  came  in  ; 
nor  was  I  long  in  finding  her.  She  sat  with  her 
head  bowed,  her  fingers  clasping  her  beads,  talk- 
ing to  a  jaunty-looking  cavalier.  I  was  on  the 
point  of  going  towards  them,  when  a  voice  behind 
me  whispered  my  name.  Taken  by  surprise,  and 
believing  I  knew  the  voice  well,  I  turned  suddenly, 
but  remembered  quickly,  and  started  to  walk  away. 
Too  late !  I  had  betrayed  myself.  It  was  the 
Queen  of  Sheba. 

"  I  knew  you,  John,  as  soon  as  you  spoke  to  me," 
she  said ;  "but  you  did  not  know  me." 

"  How  could  I  think  of  finding  you  here,  Dora  ?  " 

"  Dwight  is  here.     Does  not  that  explain  it  ?  " 

"  Can  I  help  you  ?  " 

"  No  ;  and  do  not  speak  to  me  again.  I  am  with 
Miss  Barry  and  her  brother;  I  only  wished  to 
explain  why  I  was  here.  If  I  can  speak  but  three 
words  to  Dwight,  I  will  not  ask  you  to  say  any- 
thing to  him;  but  if  I  cannot  —  you  will  help  me, 
John  ?  And  you,  you  are  much  better  ?  "  she 
hastened  to  say  without  giving  me  time  to  reply. 

"  Sometimes  I  think  I  am  better,  and  then  I  feel 
as  if  I  had  gone  back." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  283 

"  Don't  be  imprudent.     Good-night." 

I  held  out  my  hand,  but  she  did  not  notice  it. 
She  took  the  arm  of  a  gaily-dressed  troubadour 
who  had  been  waiting  at  a  little  distance,  and  went 
away. 

I  had  noticed  that  some  one  in  a  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots  costume  was  standing  near,  but  I  had  for- 
gotten her  in  thinking  of  Dwight  Salem.  Now,  as 
I  started  to  go  away,  I  saw  that  she  was  watching 
me.  I  would  have  passed  by,  but  she  laid  her 
hand  upon  my  arm  and  said,  — 

"  Father,  I  have  a  confession  to  make." 

"  I  can  pardon  past  sins;  but  woe  unto  thee,  my 
daughter,  if  thou  lookest  for  help  from  me  after 
to-night." 

"  I  think  I  shall  have  no  need  of  forgiveness  in 
future.  I  shall  die  to-night  of  fright." 

"  Speak  not  to  the  Church  in  riddles,  my 
daughter." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Hardy,  Mr.  Hardy,  she  is  here ! " 

Until  she  spoke  my  name  I  had  not  recognized 
Miss  Norton's  voice.  "  Who  is  here  ?  " 

"  The  girl  that  Thurston  loves,"  she  whis- 
pered. 

"  I  have  n't  a  doubt  of  it,"  I  whispered  back. 

"Then  you  know  her?  But  you  do  not  know 
that  she  does  not  care  for  him  ?  " 

"  Certainly  I  know  it." 


284  A  fearless  Investigator. 

"  How  could  you  know  that  when  she  only  ac- 
knowledged it  to  me  last  night  ?  " 

"  She  acknowledged  it  to  me  the  first  time  I  saw 
her." 

"  How  strange  !  When  I  spoke  of  you,  she  did 
not  say  that  she  had  even  met  you.  Oh  !  I  wish  I 
had  never  allowed  myself  to  be  led  into  this  !  He 
has  gone  now  into  the  other  room,  and  she  is 
there  ;  perhaps  by  this  time  he  has  seen  her." 

"  Miss  Norton,  are  you  delirious ;  or  am  I  ?" 

"  I  hope  it  is  I,  and  that  I  shall  awake  in  sound 
mind  soon.  I  try  to  be  calm,  but  I  cannot. 
What  if  she  should  disappear  while  he  is  talking 
with  her,  and  he  should  go  crazy !  It  would  be  my 
fault,  and  I  should  never  know  another  day's  hap- 
piness!  You  have  strong  nerves,  —  you  come 
with  me,  and  together  we  can  persuade  her  to  go 
away  and  not  come  back." 

"  Mary  Stuart,  it  is  a  physician  you  need  and 
not  a  priest." 

"  How  can  you  speak  with  levity  when  I  am  so 
miserably  anxious  ?  I  am  sure  to-morrow  every 
hair  on  my  head  will  be  silver  !  " 

"  Never  give  up  gold  for  silver,  Mary  Stuart." 

While  talking,  we  had  walked  through  the  draw- 
ing room,  and  now  we  stood  by  the  door  looking 
across  the  broad  hall  into  the  room  opposite. 
Suddenly  she  grasped  my  arm,  — 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  285 

"  You  seem  to  be  fading  away  out  of  sight,"  she 
said  in  a  terrified  whisper.  "  I  am  afraid  I  am 
going  to  faint !  " 

I  led  her  to  the  doorway,  and  was  going  to  insist 
upon  her  removing  her  domino  to  take  a  breath  of 
fresh  air,  when  the  king's  jester  came  out  from  the 
room  opposite,  with  the  lady  dressed  like  Jeannette 
Carlton  on  his  arm.  When  they  had  passed  me 
before,  I  had  brought  myself  to  believe  that  the 
likeness  to  the  figure  of  Jeannette,  and  even  the 
well-remembered  lace  mantle,  were  but  accidents 
of  masquerade  ;  but  now  I  heard  her  voice  and 
could  not  be  mistaken.  And  this  was  the  girl  Miss 
Norton  thought  Thurston  loved  !  I  forgot  what  he 
himself  had  told  me ;  I  forgot  that  I  had  bade 
Jeannette  good-by  for  all  time ;  I  only  felt  the 
jealousy  that  often  returns  when  the  better  part  of 
a  passion  is  dead.  I  took  one  stride  towards  them, 
when  Miss  Norton  said,  — 

"  You  too,  Mr.  Hardy,  —  you  too  have  been  led 
into  it  ?  Look  at  yourself ! " 

She  need  not  have  spoken,  for  when  I  had  taken 
the  hasty  step  towards  the  jester  and  Jeannette  I 
had  reached  out  my  hand,  and  I  now  saw  my  long 
arm  clad  only  in  my  shirt-sleeve  :  the  loose  gray 
serge  had  disappeared  !  Before  putting  on  the 
suit  thrown  from  behind  the  screen,  I  had  taken  off 
my  coat  and  waiscoat ;  and  now  I  found  myself  in 


z86  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

the  midst  of  masked  fiends,  some  of  them,  among 
them  the  jester,  nearly  convulsed  with  laughter, 
while  I  stood  with  not  so  much  as  a  square  inch  of 
domino  left  to  hide  my  identity ! 

I  felt  for  an  instant  as  if  I  too  had  not  been 
thoroughly  materialized ;  then  I  dashed  upstairs  to 
my  room,  with  strength  enough  in  one  thumb  and 
finger  to  strangle  old  St.  Clair. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  287 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

OEFORE  I  reached  the  top  of  the  stairs  I  felt 
*— '  more  angry  with  Thurston  than  with  Paul 
St.  Clair;  for  Thurston  had  laughed  as  if  it  had 
been  the  joke  of  his  life ;  and  Jeannette  Carlton 
was  on  his  arm  I  Did  I  not  know  them  both  ?  I 
determined  to  dress  myself  as  Charles  I.,  and  go 
down  as  quickly  as  possible. 

"  Did  n't  I  tell  you  to  come  up  in  fifteen  min- 
utes ?  "  said  the  old  gentleman,  the  instant  I  opened 
the  door. 

"  Thanks  to  an  overruling  Providence,  and  none 
to  you,  sir,  that  I  was  left  with  anything  on,"  I 
replied,  without  looking  towards  him,  while  I 
gathered  together  the  Charles  suit  left  upon  the 
bed. 

"  I  noticed  when  I  left  you  that  it  was  dissolv- 
ing," he  said  calmly ;  "  that  was  nearly  half  an 
hour  ago.  Strange  you  did  n't  notice  it !  Did 
you  go  near  the  air  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  went  to  the  door.  I  am  accustomed  to 
wear  clothes  that  will  permit  me  to  go  to  the  door." 


288  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  now  ?"  he  asked,  in 
the  same  genial  tone. 

"  I  am  going  to  put  on  a  pair  of  breeches  made 
by  a  mortal  tailor,"  and  I  held  up  the  royal  pair 
Thurston  had  provided. 

"Instead  of  putting  more  on,  make  yourself 
entirely  invisible,"  he  said  enticingly. 

"  Even  if  that  were  possible  with  your  diabolical 
arts,  probably  just  as  I  had  perched  myself  to 
listen  where  I  had  no  business  to  be,  I  should  find 
myself  suddenly  visible,  and  Thurston  splitting  his 
sides  to  see  my  discomfort." 

"  That  could  not  happen,"  he  said  impressively ; 
"for  in  order  to  become  invisible,  the  material 
part  of  you  must  be  dematerialized ;  and  unless 
you,  or  the  medium,  met  with  some  sudden  shock 
to  disturb  seriously  the  conditions,  —  and  there  is 
much  less  danger  to  the  medium,  I  contend,  where 
a  material  body  is  dissolved  than  where  a  spirit  is 
materialized,  —  no  harm  could  come  to  you." 

"  Do  you  propose  literally  to  dissolve  me !  "  I 
cried  in  horror. 

"Not  you,  but  your  body." 

"  I  am  not  ready  for  dissolution,"  I  said  sadly. 
"  Give  me  Charles's  clothes.  I  am  wasting  time, 
and  I  must  see  her." 

He  said  no  more,  but  helped  me  to  dress,  and  I 
went  down  alone.  As  I  passed  the  orange-tree 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  289 

I  saw  another  card  in  its  branches,  which  I  took  and 
thrust  hastily  into  my  pocket,  running  the  risk  of 
Thurston  seeing  me.  I  was  growing  reckless. 

I  found  no  trace  of  Thurston,  Miss  Norton,  or 
Jeannette.  The  nun  was  still  counting  her  beads, 
but  the  little  cavalier  had  been  crowded  out  of  his 
place  by  the  tall  king  who  was  handing  the  pious 
sister  a  bill.  I  had  no  longer  any  doubts  that  it 
was  Consolation ;  but  had  she  been  betting  with 
him  ? 

I  took  a  seat  near  by  and  said,  "  Good  evening, 
sister." 

"  Your  Majesty  is  welcome,"  she  said  gayly ; 
then  turning  to  the  tall  king,  who  had  arisen, 
"  Charles  is  a  feeble  monarch  ;  you  surely  do  not 
fear  him !  " 

There  was  an  open  bitterness  in  the  tone  that  I 
had  never  heard  in  Consolation's  voice.  I  began 
to  believe  I  had  made  a  mistake  in  spite  of  the 
bill. 

"  I  don't  fear  him,"  the  tall  king  returned  ;  "  but 
what  king  ever  loved  another  ?  Give  me  the  prayers, 
sister;  I  speak  for  all  the  beads.  Don't  sell  this 
Charles  even  a  bit  of  string  between  them." 

"  Your  Majesty  wishes  to  measure  your  purse 
with  mine,"  I  said,  "  and  I  decline." 

"  Thou   art   royally   mean,"   he   said   laughing. 
"  Wilt  thou  also  refuse  to  measure  swords  ?  " 
19 


290  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  That  were  a  pleasure  my  conscience  would 
approve,"  I  replied. 

He  turned  away,  laughing  good-naturedly. 

"  Do  not  leave  us,  your  Majesty,"  said  the  nun, 
"  but  stay  and  measure  wits  with  him." 

"  That  is  a  contest  I  dare  not  enter,  sister,"  and 
he  stalked  away. 

"  See,  I  have  vanquished  him,"  said  I,  taking 
his  seat  beside  her. 

"  Vain  king !  Give  me  a  specimen  of  your 
cleverness.  How  many  people  do  you  know 
here  ?  " 

"  Not  one.  It  is  bad  taste  to  lift  a  veil  that  one 
has  thrown  across  a  face  with  the  express  purpose 
of  concealment.  I  am  content  to  wait." 

"  For  whom  is  your  Majesty  watching  so  un- 
easily ?  " 

I  realized  that  I  had,  from  the  moment  I  sat 
down,  moved  festlessly,  watching  every  one  who 
passed ;  and  sometimes  I  had  started  abruptly  to 
go  away  with  a  strong  desire  to  find  Thurston  and 
follow  him;  but  I  had  no  wish  that  Consolation 
should  see  my  anxiety.  At  that  moment  the  grace- 
ful little  dancer  in  the  big  bonnet  passed,  and  I 
said, — 

"  I  am  impatient  to  dance  with  that  little  girl ; 
this  is  the  first  time  I  have  seen  her  without  a 
partner." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  291 

"  You  will  have  to  pay  double  for  a  prayer  after 
dancing  with  her." 

«  Who  is  she  ?  " 

"  She  is  the  daughter  of  Herodias." 

"  I  will  ask  her  to  dance  with  me." 

"  Would  it  be  prudent  ?  " 

"  Why  not  ?  " 

"  Your  Majesty  seems  a  little  feeble." 

Did  she  know  me  ?  I  did  not  wait  to  find  out, 
but  sought  the  daughter  of  Herodias,  and  never 
did  an  unfortunate  king  dance  as  I  danced  that 
night!  The  music  seemed  playing  for  us  alone, 
and  the  decorations  of  the  room  swayed  in  har- 
mony with  some  law  which  lay  hidden  in  the  tiny 
feet  of  this  little  dancer. 

I  danced  until  I  was  exhausted,  and  still  she 
moved  as  lightly,  as  unweariedly,  as  at  first.  Even 
a  king  could  not  say  to  such  a  dancer,  "  I  am 
weary,"  but  I  was  unable  to  dance  more,  when  she 
stopped,  saying,  — 

"  Poor  king !  you  are  tired.  You  did  not  know 
what  I  was." 

"  You  are  the  daughter  of  Herodias,"  I  gasped. 
"I  have  not  a  doubt  of  it  now.  I  withdraw  all  the 
blame  I  have  ever  laid  on  poor  Herod ;  for  I 
believe  you  danced  with  him,  and  not  before  him. 
Tell  me  the  truth,  now,"  and  I  looked  down  at  her, 
at  the  same  time  tipping  back  the  great  bonnet  she 


292  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

wore,  for  it  was  better  to  look  into  the  holes 
of  a  domino  than  at  the  crown  of  that  horrible 
bonnet. 

"  No,"  she  whispered,  "  do  not  look  !  " 

The  warning  came  too  late.  I  had  looked  into 
its  depths  —  and  it  contained  no  head ! 

When  Charles  found  himself  minus  that  impor- 
tant part  of  himself,  I  doubt  if  he  began  to  feel  the 
horror  that  I  felt  as  I  staggered  away.  There  was 
a  little  room  just  beyond  the  library,  where  Thurs- 
ton  often  sat  to  read  and  smoke.  I  felt  that  this 
room  might  be  empty,  and  I  wanted  to  compose 
myself  a  little  before  going  up  to  meet  Paul  St. 
Clair  again.  The  door  was  partly  open,  and  the 
room  was  but  dimly  lighted.  I  met  with  some 
resistance  as  I  went  in,  but  found  it  was  only  a 
chair.  At  first  it  seemed  quite  dark  after  the  glare 
of  the  hall  and  drawing-room,  but  in  a  moment  I 
saw  that  the  room  was  occupied ;  I  begged  pardon 
for  intruding,  and  went  to  my  room. 

"  You  are  back  sooner  than  I  expected,"  said 
the  old  gentleman  ;  "  what  is  the  matter  now  ?  " 

"  Give  me  John  Hardy's  clothes,  and  let  me 
leave  this  accursed  place,"  I  groaned.  "  I  know 
something  of  the  delirium  fiends  that  accompany  a 
first-class  fever,  but  I  never  knew  anything  like 
this  night." 

"  Come,  young  man,  be  reasonable ;   has  any- 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  293 

thing  happened  that  could  do  you  the  least 
harm  ?  " 

"  I  have  found  out  the  fate  of  Herodias's  daugh- 
ter ;  and  I  never  asked  to  know  her  fate.  Even  in 
Sunday-school,  where  to  wish  to  learn  it  would 
have  been  considered  a  laudable  curiosity,  I  never 
inquired.  Yet  to-night  when  I  need  all  my  nerve 
for  my  own  affairs,  I  suddenly  learn  that  she  was 
beheaded,  like  poor  John  ;  and  she  has  danced 
down  all  these  centuries  to  meet  me  to-night."  I 
paused,  as  I  remembered  the  empty  bonnet,  and 
shivered. 

"  There  is  your  imagination  working  again,  — 
working  you  more  harm  than  good,"  he  said, 
soothingly.  "  I  could  explain  all  about  the  poor 
little  dancer ;  but  you  are  in  no  mood  to  be  reason- 
able. To-morrow  you  will  laugh  at  yourself  for 
your  nonsense." 

"  Mr.  St.  Clair,"  I  spoke  as  calmly  as  possible, 
"  I  am  a  madman !  I  know  it  but  too  well.  There 
is  no  party  here.  I  have  not  seen  Jeannette 
Carlton  to-night.  I  have  not  seen  anybody.  You 
are  a  phantom  !  I  imagine  that  I  am  dressed  like 
a  friar,  and  then  I  imagine  I  am  standing  in  my 
shirt-sleeves ;  but  the  worst  nightmare  must  end. 
I  will  not  leave  this  room  again.  If  I  am  no 
better  when  the  morning  comes,  send  me  to  an 
asylum  and  keep  me  from  disgracing  myself,"  and 


294  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

I  began  sadly  to  remove  the  royal  suit.  Mechani- 
cally, I  put  my  hand  in  one  of  the  pockets,  and 
there  I  felt  the  card  I  had  forgotten  to  read.  I 
looked  at  it  without  interest  until  I  read  the 
words,  — 

"  It  will  be  decided  to-night !  Because  she  has  loved  another, 
I  shall  not  despair.  Keep  Consolation  from  the  garden  ;  I 
have  not  discovered  her.  If  you  dance  with  the  angel  in  the 
big  bonnet,  for  your  life,  don't  look  inside  the  bonnet !  It  is 
only  a  trick,  but  it  might  floor  you." 

The  old  gentleman  laid  his  hand  upon  my  arm. 
"  Use  your  reason,"  he  said,  "  and  let  yourimagina- 
tion  rest  awhile." 

"  Because  she  has  loved  another  I  shall  not 
despair !  "  What  could  he  mean,  except  that  he 
had  learned  that  once  Jeanette  had  loved  me? 
And  he  had  imagined  that  he  had  loved  Miss 
Norton,  whom  he  had  always  known,  just  as  I  had 
always  known  Dora.  And  he  asked  me  to  keep 
Consolation  out  of  the  garden  while  he  added 
another  page  to  the  history  of  the  old  seat  that  he 
had  purposely  left  in  the  shadow.  Another  page 
with  my  Jeannette's  name  upon  it ! 

"  I  am  going  back,  Mr.  St.  Clair.  I  cannot 
stay  here." 

"  I  will  go  with  you,  my  son." 

"  No,  let  me  go  alone." 

"  You  need  me ;  let  me  go." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  295 

"  No,  no  !  If  Thurston  sees  you  with  me  he  will 
know  me,  for  we  are  so  often  together  ;  I  must 
not  be  known,  for  I  am  going  to  play  the  part  of  a 
coward.  Sooner  or  later  every  one  comes  to  it. 
You  are  kind,  but  I  must  go  alone." 

"  Wait,"  he  urged,  "  they  shall  not  see  me." 

He  went  behind  the  screen,  and  in  a  moment 
called,  "  Come  here."  I  obeyed,  and  found  a 
woman  lying  asleep  upon  a  lounge;  she  looked 
pale,  and  breathed  heavily ;  another  woman,  very 
stout,  sat  near  her.  He  paid  no  attention  to  my 
surprise,  but  said,  — 

"  Can  you  see  any  hand  there  ?  "  at  the  same 
time  holding  out  an  arm  towards  me ;  but  I  could 
see  no  trace  of  a  hand. 

"  No,"  I  exclaimed,  "  what  have  you  done  with 
it?" 

"The  real  hand  is  there,"  he  said,  "but  the 
natural  hand  is  gone.  I  wanted  you  to  see  it  dis- 
appear ;  then  you  would  not  be  afraid." 

Slowly  the  whole  arm  up  to  the  shoulder  faded 
out  of  sight.  I  was  so  much  interested  I  forgot  to 
feel  fear. 

"  Hold  out  your  hand,  "  said  he,  "  and  let  them 
remove  the  material  part  of  it." 

I  held  it  out.  but  before  much  of  it  had  disap- 
peared, I  was  forced  to  cry  out,  so  strong  was  the 
pain.  The  old  gentleman  held  an  animated  con- 


296  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

versation  with  the  air,  and  the  woman  on  the  lounge 
groaned. 

"  Did  n't  it  hurt  you  any  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Not  in  the  least ;  but  there  is  a  good  reason 
for  that,  —  I  am  dematerialized  most  of  the  time." 

"  Not  wholly !  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  My  very  dear  boy,  how  do  you  suppose  I  got 
to  Jupiter?  Did  you  think  I  walked  there  with 
legs  of  flesh  and  blood,  or  went  in  a  balloon  ?  " 

"  I  thought  you  went  only  in  fancy." 

"  I  may  have  said  so,  because  you  were  not  pre- 
pared for  the  truth.  Now,  look  here;  this  pain 
is  all  imagination.  I  have  the  word  of  no  less 
a  person  than  the  Egyptian  Hermes  Trismegistus, 
who  practised  this  art  with  perfect  success  in  his 
day.  It  is  he  who  condescends  to  dissolve  your 
mortal  body  for  you  and  make  you  free  for  a  few 
hours.  He  says  that  there  is  positively  no  feeling 
in  matter,  and  the  pain  you  felt  was  a  disease  of 
the  imagination  which  we  call  '  apprehension.'  If 
you  were  asleep  he  could  dematerialize  you,  and 
you  would  never  feel  it.  I  am  going  to  be  made 
invisible  ;  and  I  am  going  to  hunt  up  Thurston 
and  all  the  rest,  and  know  what  everybody  is 
saying,  and  yet  remain  unseen." 

"  I  will  bear  it !  "  I  exclaimed.  "  Take  me  with 
you !  Do  you  suppose  I  have  offended  the  great 
Hermes  by  giving  way  so  foolishly  to  apprehen- 


A  Fearless  Investigator,  297 

sion  ?  I  am  not  sure  that  I  shall  not  do  it  again, 
but  tell  him  not  to  notice  a  few  groans ;  he  must 
know  that  the  spirit  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is 
weak." 

He  conversed  again  with  the  invisible  Hermes, 
and  after  a  moment  said,  "  There  is  no  need  of  any 
pain  if  you  will  but  keep  your  imagination  busied 
elsewhere.  Close  your  eyes,  and  I  shall  not  tell  you 
to  open  them  until  I  am  wholly  dematerialized." 

"  Shall  I  be  frightened,  do  you  think?"  I  asked, 
with  a  great  effort  to  speak  lightly. 
"  Afraid  because  you  see  nothing  ?  " 
"  Yes." 

"  Are  you  usually  afraid  of  nothing  ?  " 
"  Ah,  but  you  will  be  here,  but  I  cannot  see 
you!     Is  it  nothing  to  know  that  a  man  is  near 
you,  and  not  be  able  to  see  him?     Can  you  speak 
to  me  after  you  are  dissolved  ?  " 

"  Certainly ;  but  you  cannot  hear  it  with  your 
natural  ear." 

"  Just  tarry  a  moment  until  you  tell  me  a  few  of 
those  mysterious  things  which  are  evidently  simple 
enough  to  you.  Can  I  hear  you  speak  with  my 
unnatural  ear?"  My  nonsensical  talk  seemed  to 
give  me  courage. 

"  Foolish  boy  !  "  he  said,  laughing ;  "  who  can 
destroy  your  real  ear  or  eye?" 


298  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  It  is  a  great  comfort  to  think  so;  but  is  it  true  ? 
May  I  open  my  eyes,  —  I  want  to  see  how  much 
of  you  is  left  ?  " 

"  No ;  do  not  open  them  until  I  say  the  word." 

"Will  you  tell  me  how  much  is  left  of  you? 
Have  you  begun  to  disappear  yet?" 

"  Be  quiet  now ;  do  not  speak  until  I  speak  to 
you." 

Left  to  my  own  thoughts,  I  cried  out  mentally, 
"  Oh,  Jeannette,  Jeannette  !  "  and  I  do  not  remem- 
ber opening  my  eyes,  but  I  looked  up,  and  there 
stood  Paul  St.  Clair  watching  me,  instead  of  dis- 
solving. 

"I  beg  pardon,"  I  said,  "I  did  not  mean  to 
open  my  eyes." 

"  Perfect !  Perfect !  "  he  cried,  with  apparent 
delight.  He  turned  me  round  gently,  and  patted 
me  with  ecstasy.  He  grasped  my  hand,  and  mur- 
mured, "  You  are  as  dead,  my  boy,  as  you  can 
ever  be ! " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  For  the  first  time  I 
felt  fear  of  the  man  himself. 

"  I  mean  that  Hermes  Trismegistus  has  freed  you 
from  your  material  body  without  a  pang  to  you." 

"  You  are  trying  to  bewilder  me,"  I  said,  touch- 
ing his  arm.  "  Am  I  not  as  much  in  the  flesh  as 
you  are  ?  " 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  299 

"  Exactly,"  he  replied,  laughing  gayly ;  "  we  are 
both  dematerialized,  my  boy.  We  are  as  free 
as  spirit  can  be !  Where  would  you  be  at  this 
moment  ?  " 

"At  the  old  seat  in  the  garden,"  I  said  bitterly; 
and  even  while  I  spoke  I  was  there. 


300  A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

IF  I  had  thought  about  it  at  all,  I  am  sure  I  should 
have  been  surprised  to  find  that  to  be  cut  off 
from  the  mortal  part  of  one's  self  does  not  make 
one  an  angel;  but  I  did  not  think  about  it.  I 
was  filled  with  indignation  because  I  believed 
Thurston  loved  Jeannette  Carlton ;  and  I  did  not 
care  to  remember  the  fact  that  I  had  no  claim 
upon  her,  but  was  bound  by  golden  ties  to 
another. 

I  was  at  the  old  seat  in  the  garden,  but  it  was 
Miss  Norton,  and  not  Jeannette,  who  sat  there ; 
and  standing  before  her  was  the  tall  king.  They 
had  both  removed  their  dominoes ;  but  what  did 
natural  obstacles  count  for  now  with  me? 

"  Look  behind  the  seat,"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
"  there  is  the  jester." 

Yes,  he  was  there,  crouched  down  without  his 
cap  or  bells.  The  tall  king  was  speaking:  — 

"A  woman,  though  she  be  as  fair  —  as  fair  as 
the  heavens,  is  a  sad  sight,  Nora,  without  a  heart 
in  her  bosom.  The  old  crone  told  the  truth  — 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  301 

there  was  but  one  heart  for  us  both,  and  I  have 
kept  it,  dearest." 

She  did  not  speak. 

"  If  it  is  a  sin  against  duty  for  you  to  love  me,  it 
shall  not  be  reckoned  against  you,  because  I  have 
followed  you  hard  and  close.  It  was  I  who  kept 
our  heart,  and  the  sacred  flame  of  love  alive  in  it. 
If  it  is  a  sin,  then  the  sin  is  mine ;  for  it  is  I  who 
will  hold  you  forever  !  " 

"  Be  merciful,  Robin !  Be  merciful !  "  she  mur- 
mured. 

"  More  merciful  than  you  are  to  yourself,  dear 
heart,"  he  said,  taking  the  seat  beside  her.  "  Give 
me  your  hand."  She  placed  the  tips  of  her  fingers 
in  his  broad  palm.  "  Now  the  other  hand."  She 
obeyed.  "  Now  look  at  me." 

"  I  dare  not,  Robin." 

"  Look  at  me  ! "  he  said,  imperatively.  She 
raised  her  white  face. 

"  Say  to  me  now,  so  that  I  shall  not  lose  a  word, 
'  I  never  have  loved  you,  Robert  Ryan ;  I  do  not 
love  you,  and  I  never  shall  love  you  ! '  " 

"  Robin,  be  merciful !  "  she  pleaded. 

"  Say  it !  "  he  demanded,  holding  both  her  hands 
in  one,  and  with  the  other  he  raised  her  head  which 
had  dropped  as  if  from  great  fatigue. 

"  You  are  a  brute ! "  cried  the  jester,  springing 
from  his  hiding-place. 


302  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  It  is  only  Thurston,"  said  the  king,  for  she 
had  started  up  in  alarm ;  "  and  who  so  fit  as  he  to 
hear  you  say  it  ?  " 

"  Can't  you  see  that  you  hurt  her  hands  !  "  cried 
Thurston,  savagely. 

"  Stay  with  us,  Thurston,"  she  implored,  —  "I 
am  afraid,"  and  she  tried  to  withdraw  her  hands. 

"  Say  it,  and  /will  leave  you,"  said  the  king. 

"  I  dare  not,  Robin." 

"No,  she  dare  not,"  declared  the  king,  "she 
dare  not!  But  until  she  can,  and  does,  no  man 
shall  take  her  from  me." 

"  Say  it,  Clara,"  the  jester  begged  gently,  —  "  say 
it,  and  be  at  peace." 

"  Why  did  you  come  here,  Robin  ?  Why,  why, 
why  ?  "  she  moaned. 

"  Thurston  sent  for  me ;  is  it  possible  that  you 
did  not  know  I  was  coming?  " 

"No,  no!  I  did  not  know  it;  I  would  always 
spare  you  pain.  Do  not  speak  to  me  or  take  my 
hand,  but  listen  to  what  1  must  say  to  you.  There 
was  a  time  when  1  tried  to  shut  you  out  from  all 
my  thoughts,  because  you  seemed  like  a  part  of 
that  dim  past  which  has  left  upon  my  memory  only 
the  sting  of  my  lowly  birth.  But  I  do  not  mean  to 
talk  of  ourselves  :  what  can  I  tell  you  that  you  do 
not  know  ?  But  think  of  my  mother,  Robin, —  the 
only  mother  I  ever  knew,  who  has  loved  me  like 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  303 

her  own  blood.  When  I  speak  of  you  she  only 
says,  '  It  would  kill  me,  Clara  ! '  She  has  not  long 
to  live,  and  once  to  ease  her  pain  —  I  promised. 
Oh,  Robin!  better  for  me  if  I  had  walked  back 
and  stood  in  the  miserable  place  where  I  was  born, 
alone,  despised,  and  waited  for  you ! " 

"  But  you  did  not  do  it,  Nora,  because  you  could 
not  be  ungrateful.  And  I,  while  my  adopted  father 
lived,  never  spoke  your  name  to  him  after  I  found 
that  even  the  thought  of  our  love  enraged  him. 
But  when  he  died  and  left  me  all  his  wealth,  with 
the  proviso  that  I  should,  before  coming  into  pos- 
session of  it,  bind  myself  never  to  marry  a  woman 
of  Irish  blood,  I  flung  his  dead  hand  from  my 
heart !  When  I  found  that  he  had  aided  me  in 
childhood  that  he  might  have  a  slave  when  I  was  a 
man,  and  even  dead  would  hold  me  in  his  grasp,  I 
felt  that  I  owed  him  no  more,  and  I  refused  the 
chains  he  had  bequeathed  me  although  they  were  of 
gold.  While  he  lived  I  was  not  ungrateful.  You 
too,  dearest,  must  pay  your  debt,  —  't  is  the  penalty 
of  our  civilization.  But  you  are  mine,  and  it  is 
your  word  alone  that  can  separate  us  —  and  let  any 
man  beware  that  dares  to  come  between  us  !  " 

He  rose  as  he  spoke,  and  looked  so  powerful 
that  if  I  had  had  my  mortal  clothes  on  I  should 
have  shivered. 

"  Take  me  away,"  she  said  piteously  to  Thurston, 
"  take  me  away  !  " 


304  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

With  a  cry  the  jester  sprang  to  her  side,  and 
would  have  taken  her  hand;  but  Robert  had 
thrown  one  strong  arm  about  her,  while  he  repulsed 
him  with  the  other.  But  quickly  repenting  the 
action,  he  said, — 

"Jealousy  is  a  beastly  instinct;  yes,  worse  than 
beastly,  for  it  knows  not  friend  from  foe.  Take 
her  hand,  Thurston,  and  forgive  me." 

But  the  jester  had  turned  aside,  and  I  knew  his 
heart  was  heavy. 

"  Poor  fellow  !  "  I  murmured. 

"  When  you  thought  he  loved  Jeannette  Carlton, 
you  were  ready  to  hate  him,"  said  the  old  gentle- 
man ;  "  but  when  he  loves  another,  you  pity  him." 

"  I  pity  them  all,"  I  returned ;  "  and  I  feel  —  as 
I  heard  you  say  once  you  felt,  —  as  if  I  am  in  the 
world,  yet  no  part  of  it." 

''Come,  Thurston,"  said  Robert,  "you  are  not 
the  man  to  understand  even  a  feeling  that  is  small 
or  contemptible." 

"  I  have  lost  my  cap  and  bells,"  said  the  jester; 
"didn't  I  have  them  when  I  came  here?" 

"  As  you  sprang  upon  us  from  nobody  knows 
where,"  said  Robert,  laughing,  "  I  can't  say.  Let 
us  go  and  hunt  for  them." 

"  A  jester  is  a  sorry  dog  without  his  cap  and 
bells."  Thurston  was  laughing  too,  but  bitterly. 

They  went  away,  and  in  a  moment  I  heard  them 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  305 

enter  the  house.  They  had  found  the  bells,  but 
their  tinkling  did  not  have  a  very  merry  sound  ;  at 
least  not  in  my  ears. 

Immediately  after,  the  Queen  of  Sheba  and  the 
little  cavalier  I  had  seen  with  the  nun  came  and 
took  the  old  seat. 

"  Do  not  think  I  came  here  to  argue  with  you," 
the  Queen  said ;  "  I  only  ask  you  to  remember  who 
you  are." 

"  Do  you  weally  think  I  am  likely  to  fowget  it, 
Do?" 

"  If  you  say  not,  that  is  enough  to  satisfy  me," 
the  proud  queen  replied. 

"  I  will  tell  you,  my  sistew,  what  you  awe  too 
pwoud  to  ask." 

"  I  did  not  come  to  claim  any  confidence." 

"  No,  you  pwoud  giwl,  you  ;  do  you  dweam  that 

I  thought  you  felt  any  feeling  so  vulgaw  as  cuwi- 

osity?     But    I    will    not   twy  to  deceive  you  any 

mowe.     I  used  to  come  to  the  Bawwy's  whenevew 

I  knew  Mws.  Temple  was  hewe  at  The  Poplaws." 

He  was  silent  for  some  time,  during  which  the 

queen  did  not  bend  her  stately  head  nor  move  her 

royal  lips.     When  he  spoke  again,  his  voice  was 

not  perfectly  steady. 

"  I  loved  hew,  Do  !  and  the  Salems  nevew  love 
but  once.     Wejected  ow  accepted,  wowthy  or  un- 
wowthy,  it  is  all  the  same  !  and  —  " 
20 


306  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

She  raised  her  hand  with  a  gesture  so  command- 
ing that  he  paused:  "  Say  what  you  will  of  your- 
self, but  do  not  speak  for  the  Salems." 

"  The  Salems  nevew  love  but  once,"  he  repeated. 
"  Somewhewe,  Dowa  Salem,  in  this  false  and 
wicked  woman,  thewe  is  sleeping  the  woman  I 
love." 

"  My  dear  boy,  this  place  has  turned  your  head," 
she  said,  gently,  — "  nor  am  I  surprised ;  for  you 
know  I  have  not  a  strong  imagination,  and  yet  I 
will  own  to  you  that  when  Miss  Barry  and  I  were 
up  in  our  dressing-room,  one  of  the  party  came 
into  the  room  unmasked,  and  such  a  perfect  coun- 
terpart was  she  to  our  great-grandmother  Salem 
that  I  nearly  let  a  cry  escape  me." 

"  You  saw  hew  then  !  And  John  Hawdy  would 
let  me  believe  that  I  was  getting  deliwius.  Oh,  he 
is  cold-blooded,  that  John  Hawdy !  He  is  too 
pwoud  to  mawwy  a  lady  fow  hew  money,  but  he 
is  n't  too  pwoud  to  mawwy  a  waif." 

"  Do  not  forget,  Dwight,  that  John  Hardy  is  our 
friend,"  she  said  hastily. 

"  Yes,  he  is  ouw  fwiend ;  and  he  is  going  to  dis- 
gwace  himself  by  mawwing  Miss  Nowton,  who  will 
be  as  wich  as  you." 

I  saw  the  proud  face  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba 
grow  white  and  almost  distorted  behind  her 
domino ;  but  she  said  calmly,  "  What  have  we  to 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  307 

do  with  his  affairs  ?  Tell  me,  did  you  see  the 
person  dressed  like  Grandmother  Salem  ?  I  wish 
you  could  have  seen  her  unmasked." 

"  Then  you  believe  it  was  only  a  guest,  do  you, 
Do  ?  " 

"  Did  you  imagine  I  thought  it  was  my  great- 
grandmother  ?  " 

"  I  thought  so.  But  I  was  excited,  and  thought 
I  owed  it  to  a  confused  bwain.  You  wewe  not 
excited,  and  call  hew  a  masquewadew.  A  ghost 
would  have  wathew  a  hawd  time  with  us,  Do." 

"  Do  you  remember  the  way  our  father  always 
spoke  of  his  grandmother?  For  his  sake,  D wight, 
do  not  speak  so  that  one  overhearing  you  might 
imagine  you  were  a  lunatic  or  a  Spiritualist." 

"  Spiwitualists  nevew  talk  about  ghosts,"  he  said, 
laughing  a  little,  —  "  they  always  say,  '  spiwits.' " 

"  The  distinction  is  beyond  my  understanding." 

"  Then  let  me  twy  to  explain  it :  the  distinction 
is  just  the  diffewence  between  the  lady  of  ouw 
Gweat-gwandmothevv  Salem's  day  and  the  lady  of 
ouw  day.  In  Gwandmothew  Salem's  day,  ghosts 
came  only  to  people  of  a  good  name,  and  only 
such  people  expected  them.  Who  evew  heawd  of 
ghosts  appeawing  to  tailows  and  bakews  and  milli- 
news  ?  Ghosts  appeawed  to  theiw  own  blood,  and 
came  when  they  were  weady,  without  the  aid  of 
people  so  vulgaw  that  if  they  had  pwesumed  to 


308  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

intwude  into  a  wespectable  house,  even  with  the 
family  ghost,  they  would  have  been  wemoved  by 
a  gestuwe.  Thewe  awe  no  ghosts  now,  thewe  awe 
only  spiwits.  Was  thewe  not  a  stowy  that  ouw 
gweat-gwandmothew  saw  the  ghost  of  hew  fathew 
in  the  gawden,  when  she  was  on  the  point  of 
mawwying  beneath  hew?" 

"  Yes,  I  remember  it,"  said  the  queen,  absently. 

"  What  was  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  remember  it,"  she  repeated.  "  He  held 
in  his  hand  a  scroll,  with  the  family  tree  upon  it, 
and  forced  her  to  read  every  name  there  ;  and  she 
did  not  dare  to  marry  the  man  she  loved." 

"  If  I  had  been  in  ouw  own  house,  and  had 
seen  this  pewson,  I  would  have  believed,  Do,  that 
it  was  Gwandmothew  Salem.  But  when  my 
gweat-gwandmothew  comes  back,  she  will  come 
as  a  ghost  and  not  a  spiwit.  Let  hew  west  in 
peace;  I  shall  not  disgwace  hew.  I  have  said 
good-bye  to  Mws.  Temple;  I  have  said  good-bye. 
I  shall  nevew  see  hew  again,  —  not  fow  my  own 
sake,  but  fow  youws." 

"  Often  when  we  are  too  weak  to  see  what  is  for 
our  own  good,"  said  the  queen,  softly,  "  we  do  it 
blindly  for  the  sake  of  another." 

"  I  thought  you  would  have  a  little  pity  fow  me," 
he  said,  in  a  voice  which  he  tried  to  keep  steady. 

"  When  my  brother  needs  pity,  he  shall  find  it ; 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  309 

but  there  come  sometimes  to  men,  —  and  women 
too,  I  believe,  Dwight,  —  experiences  which,  like 
death,  they  must  meet  alone." 

I  approached  her,  unheard  and  unseen,  and 
looked  into  her  calm  eyes.  It  was  as  if  she  drew  me 
towards  her  with  the  power  of  her  proud,  pure  mind. 
The  memory  even  of  Jeannette  Carlton,  and  of 
every  other  woman,  had  gone  from  my  thoughts 
forever.  The  pale  moon  of  sentimentality  had 
gone  down  to  rise  no  more ;  but  the  strong  sun  of 
sentiment  had  risen  and  lighted  my  soul. 

"  Why,"  I  exclaimed  to  my  companion,  "  did 
you  permit  me  to  do  such  a  dastardly  thing  as  to 
come  here  ?  This  lady  I  respect  more  than  any- 
body in  the  world." 

"That's  all  right,"  he  said  coolly.  "It  is  not 
the  same  thing  at  all  for  us  to  play  eavesdropper 
as  for  people  who  are  in  the  flesh." 

"  But  do  you  see  the  horrible  necessity  which 
your  words  imply  ? " 

"  Why,  no.     I  see  no  horrible  necessity." 

"You  are  right,  Mr.  St.  Clair;  none  but  those 
who  have  laid  aside  the  mortal  coil  have  a  right  to 
do  as  we  have  done  to-night.  For  me,  there  is  but 
one  honorable  way  to  act :  the  mortal  particles  that 
Hermes  Trismegistus  has  dissolved  must  never  be 
reunited.  Can  I  return  and  live  among  people 
whose  secrets  I  have  stolen  ?  The  Earth  does  not 


310  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

want  me ;  and  if  I  try  to  enter  the  world  above,  I 
shall  be  like  a  guest  who  came,  but  was  not  invited. 
Go,  and  ask  your  wonderful  Hermes  where  I  am 
to  dwell  in  the  future ! " 

"  Where  are  you  dwelling  now  ?  "  he  asked,  a 
little  impatiently,  but  much  amused. 

"  I  am  upon  stolen  territory.  But  I  have  an 
idea,  a  plan,  which  you  must  approve.  I  will  go 
to  Jupiter,  be  reincarnated,  serve  out  the  days 
which  Fate  allotted  me,  and  when  Death,  the  only 
lawful  dematerializer  comes,  I  will  enter  the  king- 
dom of  the  spirit  honorably ;  and  if  I  find  her 
whose  proud  soul  I  have  looked  into  as  the  thief 
peers  into  the  casket  that  was  made  to  hide  the 
jewel  from  his  profane  eyes,  I  will  tell  her  that  it 
was  for  her  sake  I  quitted  the  earth,  leaving  no 
trace  behind  me." 

"  Do  you  mean  Jeannette  Carlton  ?  " 

"  I  do  not !  "  I  exclaimed  angrily. 

"  Pardon  me,  I  thought  even  mortal  love  lasted 
a  day." 

"  I  have  never  loved  Miss  Carlton." 

He  began  to  laugh  softly,  but  stopped  suddenly, 
and  said,  "  I  am  glad  to  find  so  much  honor  stirring 
in  you ;  but  there  is  something  you  seem  to  have 
forgotten." 

"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  Our  medium." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  311 

"  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  any  mediums." 

"  But  our  medium  has  something  to  do  with 
you." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Hermes  Trismegistus  can  dissolve  your  mortal 
frame,  but  he  cannot  sever  the  tie  that  binds  you 
to  it.  Let  our  medium  but  come  out  of  her  trance, 
and  those  particles  will  reunite,  and  fly  to  you  as 
bits  of  steel  leap  towards  a  magnet." 

"  Mr.  St.  Clair,  I  do  not  believe  it !  You  would 
force  me  to  stay  where  I  no  longer  belong. 
Farewell ! " 

With  spirit,  space  is  annihilated.  I  longed  for 
Jupiter,  and  I  was  there. 


312  A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

MY  idea  in  coming  to  Jupiter  had  been  to  get 
materialized  as  soon  as  possible,  which 
would  prevent  my  returning  to  the  Earth  as  I 
feared  I  should  be  tempted  to  do.  This  thought 
was  strong  enough  to  bring  me  to  the  exact  spot  I 
needed  in  the  great  planet. 

I  found  myself  standing  before  a  large  building, 
which  looked  like  a  white  temple.  The  whole 
front  was  covered  with  what  I  supposed  at  first  to 
be  inscriptions,  but  upon  examination  proved  to  be 
invitations  to  all  visitors  from  the  smaller  planets 
to  enter.  These  invitations  were  written  in  every 
language  I  had  ever  heard  of,  and  many  of  which 
I  was  totally  ignorant.  I  went  in  and  was  greeted 
with  the  words,  "  God  bless  the  Earth."  This 
reassured  me,  and  I  walked  on,  passing  through 
a  wide  corridor  where  I  met  many  people,  prob- 
ably from  my  own  planet;  but  they  were  looking 
through  material  eyes  and  could  not  see  me.  I 
thought  that  they,  for  different  reasons  perhaps, 
had  bound  themselves  to  Jupiter  as  I  was  about  to 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  313 

do.  Suddenly  the  corridor  grew  very  narrow,  and 
I  heard  a  voice  say,  — 

"  A  spirit  from  Earth  draws  near.  It  comes  to 
be  reclothed  in  flesh." 

I  do  not  even  have  to  ask  for  what  I  want,  I 
thought.  Two  creatures,  fair  as  angels,  took  me 
by  the  hand  ;  one  said,  — 

"We  are  sent  to  do  thy  bidding;  but  art  thou 
so  tied  to  the  material  life  that  thou  wouldst  return 
to  it  when  thou  art  free  ?  " 

"  Does  one  always  act  from  choice  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  It  is  not  for  us  to  question,"  said  the  other; 
"  wilt  thou  have  thy  old  Earth  form  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  it  be  permitted." 

In  vain  they  worked ;  nothing  appeared  that 
mortal  eyes  could  see. 

"  Thou  art  surely  from  the  Earth  ?  "  they  said, 
with  puzzled  faces. 

"  Certainly." 

"  Alas ! "  said  one,  "  thou  hast  deceived  us. 
Never  before  have  we  failed.  It  is  useless ;  we 
cannot  materialize  you." 

"Cannot!"  I  exclaimed,  alarmed.  "Is  then 
the  Earth  in  advance  of  great  Jupiter?  Upon  the 
Earth  they  can  do  it." 

"  Not  to  be  able  to  serve  thee  is  to  us  a  sorrow," 
they  said ;  "  but  we  cannot,  and  the  reason  is  hid 
from  us." 


314  -d  Fearless  Investigator. 

I  became  almost  enraged,  and  approached  them 
angrily.  "  I  demand  a  place  to  exist  in  the  flesh  !  " 
I  cried,  whereupon  they  looked  at  me  sorrowfully 
and  disappeared. 

I  turned  to  go  away,  when  a  tall  figure  stood 
before  me.  His  dress  was  Egyptian,  and  although 
I  had  never  seen  or  heard  him  described,  the 
moment  I  looked  into  his  dark  face,  met  his  eyes 
of  fire,  and  saw  his  nostrils  quivering  with  sup- 
pressed indignation,  I  knew  that  it  could  be  no 
other  than  Hermes  Trismegistus. 

"  Young  man,"  said  he,  sternly,  "  you  are  wanted 
upon  the  Earth." 

For  an  instant  I  felt  a  desire  to  oppose  him  ;  but 
with  a  force  that  left  me  no  will  but  his,  he  said, 
"  Return  !  "  and  while  the  word  seemed  to  echo 
through  every  channel  of  my  soul,  I  found  myself 
standing  behind  the  screen  in  my  room,  and  Paul 
St.  Clair  beside  me.  I  did  not  at  first  perceive 
that  he  was  materialized,  but  I  soon  discovered  it 
from  the  fact  that  he  did  not  see  me.  There 
appeared  to  be  great  confusion  in  the  room.  The 
stout  woman  was  talking  to  Mrs.  Moore,  and  ges- 
ticulating violently. 

"  'T  was  n't  none  of  my  doin's,"  she  said ;  "  I 
was  averse  to  the  whole  thing  from  the  beginning. 
It  is  natural  as  day,  says  I,  to  Mr.  St.  Clair,  when 
he  proposed  it,  that  spirits  should  come  back  and 


A  Fear/ess  Investigator.  315 

want  to  let  their  friends  see  and  touch  'em,  and 
hear  'em  talk ;  but  it  ain't  natural,  says  I,  that  a 
man  should  go  out  of  his  body  and  go  poking 
round  in  forbidden  spears,  before  he  has  passed 
through  the  valley  of  the  shadder  of  death.  For 
five  years  I  have  been  round  with  this  medium ; 
for  three  years  she  has  been  materializin'  and 
drawin'  from  me  to  do  it;  and  never  in  that  time 
have  I  seen  her  in  such  ag'ny  as  this." 

"  I  hope  this  was  not  one  of  your  experiments, 
Thurston,"  said  Mrs.  Moore,  with  real  anxiety  in 
her  tone. 

"My  intention  when  I  got  John  out  here  was  to 
put  some  flesh  on  him,  and  now  to  be  accused  of 
taking  off  what  little  he  had  is  rather  hard  to  bear," 
said  Thurston. 

"  Don't  pretend  to  believe  this  ridiculous  story," 
said  his  mother ;  "  only  find  him,  and  I  will  be 
satisfied." 

"  So  shall  we  all,"  groaned  Thurston. 

"  Don't  they  know  I  am  here  ?  "  I  asked  the 
Egyptian. 

"  How  should  they  ?  "  he  answered  shortly. 

"  Who  materialized  Mr.  St.  Clair  ?  " 

"  I  did,  that  he  might  be  able  to  explain." 

"  What  did  you  bring  me  back  for  ?  " 

"  That  you  might  learn  many  things  you  seem 
ignorant  of  now." 


316  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  For  instance  ?  "  I  said,  coolly. 

"  That  you  cannot  ignore  conditions." 

He  left  me  and  went  to  the  lounge  where  the 
medium  lay.  When  we  first  came  back  she  was 
evidently  in  great  distress,  but  now  she  was  quiet ; 
and  although  occasionally  she  sighed  heavily,  she 
seemed  out  of  danger. 

"He  has  returned,"  she  gasped,  "he  is  safe! 
As  soon  as  possible  you  shall  behold  him  again  in 
Earth  form." 

"  You  hear  that  ?  "  said  the  old  gentleman.  "  He 
is  safe,  the  rascal !  But  he  has  broken  all  my 
hopes." 

"  What  does  he  mean  ? "  I  inquired  of  the 
Egyptian. 

"  I  will  tell  you  soon." 

Maria  Williams  put  her  head  in  at  the  door  and 
asked  if  another  medium  would  be  of  any  assist- 
ance, and  at  the  same  moment  old  Miss  Kimball 
floundered  into  the  room  saying,  — 

"  I  have  just  heard  of  your  trouble,  and  I  come 
to  see  if  any  of  you  knew  that  Mandy  Litchfield 
was  in  the  house  ?  " 

"Who  is  Mandy  Litchfield?"  asked  the  stout 
woman,  turning  upon  the  intruder,  with  apparently 
no  effort  to  conceal  her  contempt. 

Miss  Kimball  showed  her  confidence  in  her 
niece  by  remaining  unruffled.  She  had  taken  her 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  317 

seat,  and  appeared  as  if  about  to  go  to  sleep ;  but 
after  a  moment  her  full  lips  inclined  towards  a 
quiet  but  victorious  smile,  and  she  said  tran- 
quilly, — 

"  She  is  my  niece ;  and  the  only  materializing 
medium  who  never  fails.  No  dark  stances  for 
her !  She  can  materialize  on  the  way  to  church  or 
going  to  the  market,  and —  " 

"I  have  heard  about  her,"  interrupted  the  stout 
woman,  significantly. 

"  I  am  glad,"  old  Miss  Kimball  returned  affably; 
"but  may  be  you  never  heard  about  the  time  she 
went  to  church  up  in  the  country  to  hear  Dr.  Grace. 
It  was  an  awful  hot  day,  and  when  they  got  to  the 
church  they  did  n't  find  more  'n  half-a-dozen  people 
there.  The  deacon  —  Deacon  Perry,  he  is  Mandy's 
cousin  —  felt  awful  over  it,  because  Dr.  Grace,  he  's 
from  New  York,  and  used  to  grand  audiences. 
Sez  the  deacon,  '  Mandy  Litchfield,  I  'd  give  a 
hundred  dollars  to  see  this  church  half  full  before 
the  doctor  gets  here.'  '  Would  you  ?' sez  Mandy, 
and  she  pretended  she  wanted  to  get  a  drink  of 
water  in  the  vestry,  and  she  left  the  deacon  settin' 
in  the  pew.  Before  she  had  been  gone  many  min- 
utes a  stranger  walked  into  the  church,  and  the 
deacon  was  pleased  enough.  Then  another  came 
in,  and  pretty  soon  they  came  in  by  twos  and 
threes  and  fours,  until  when  Dr.  Grace  went  into 


318  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

the  pulpit  the  church  was  almost  full.  The  deacon 
was  tickled  enough,  and  when  he  went  after  Maridy 
he  found  her  asleep  in  the  superintendent's  chair 
in  the  vestry.  He's  so  down  on  Spiritualism  that 
she  never  told  him  she  materialized  that  audience 
just  so  he  need  n't  feel  bad,  and  she  never  charged 
him  a  cent !  That 's  who  Mandy  Litchfield  is  ! " 

The  stout  woman  still  maintained  her  scornful 
attitude.  "  Materializations,"  she  said,  "  ain't  no 
more  now  than  raps  and  writing  on  slates  was 
twenty  years  ago.  We  have  ^materialized  a  man, 
and  he  has  made  tracks  for  another  planet ;  here, 
in  this  very  room,  is  all  the  particles  of  his  body, 
and  the  spirits  won't  let  this  poor  medium  come 
out  of  her  trance  until  he  returns  and  is  recom- 
posed.  But  we  disturb  the  medium.  I  only  talked 
to  show  you  that  Mandy  Litchfield  could  n't  help 
us!" 

If  the  stout  woman  had  possessed  a  soul  formed 
to  enjoy  triumph,  this  must  have  been  a  happy 
moment  for  her.  The  smile  of  victory  had  faded 
from  poor  old  Miss  Kimball's  heavy  lips,  and  they 
had  parted  helplessly;  her  whole  expression  was 
as  if  she  had  just  been  shaken  by  the  explosion  of 
a  powerful  piece  of  artillery  and  was  simply  wait- 
ing for  a  second  shock,  which  not  being  forthcom- 
ing, she  staggered  from  the  spot. 

No  one  had  apparently  enjoyed  this  little  scene 


A  Fearless  Investigator,  319 

more  than  Paul  St.  Clair;  but  when  Miss  Kimball 
had  gone,  he  said,  "Thurston,  you  look  pale  ;  did 
you  understand  that  your  friend  was  here  ?  " 

"  Show  him  up,  then,"  said  Thurston.  "  I  have 
had  all  the  nonsense  I  want  for  one  night." 

"  Let  everyone  leave  the  room,  except  those  who 
were  here  when  he  left,"  the  old  gentleman  com- 
manded. 

Thurston  seized  him  by  the  hand.  "  St.  Clair," 
he  whispered,  "tell  me  the  truth  !  Has  anything 
happened  ?  Is  John  Hardy  dead  ?  " 

"  No  more  dead  than  you  are,"  St.  Clair  replied. 

When  they  had  gone,  he  went  and  sat  down 
away  from  the  screen.  The  Egyptian  came  to 
me,  and  laying  his  powerful  hand  upon  my  shoulder 
said,  in  a  tone  whose  supernatural  strength  and 
sweetness  made  me  feel  rather  than  hear  its 
sadness,  — 

"  I  had  hoped  to  rob  Death  of  his  terrors.  Fora 
lifetime  I  thought  of  it  upon  the  Earth.  I  dreamed 
that  sometime  I  should  hold  in  my  hand  the  power 
to  free  the  spirit,  and  yet  to  hold  it,  —  as  we  can 
let  fly  a  dove,  with  a  silken  thread  tied  to  its  wing 
to  draw  it  back  to  earth  if  it  soars  too  high.  Men 
called  me  '  magician,'  '  sorcerer,'  for  I  made  visible 
the  faces  that  Death  had  destroyed. 

"  I  passed  from  mortal  scenes  and  was  forgotten ; 
but  the  old  passion  did  not  die  with  my  body.  I 


320  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

waited,  still  studying  and  working,  believing  that 
the  time  would  come  when  I  could  lead  men  forth 
and  prove  to  them  that  the  body  may  be  dissolved 
and  the  spirit  still  live.  For  ages  I  waited  for  men 
to  be  ready  for  this  simple  truth.  At  last  I  be- 
lieved the  hour  of  my  triumph  was  at  hand;  Paul 
St.  Clair  had  promised  to  help  me. 

"  He  studied  you  from  the  hour  you  came,  with 
this  thought  in  his  mind.  He  found  a  medium  who 
agreed  to  bear  her  share  in  the  task,  —  and  no 
simple  share  let  me  tell  you.  In  my  delight  at  the 
hope  of  success,  I  said,  '  Let  me  not  do  this  at  the 
expense  of  a  moment's  pain  to  a  fellow-being.' 

"  How  successful  I  was  you  can  witness.  When 
you  were  free,  I  thought  the  first  thing  you  would 
do  would  be  to  turn  and  look  upon  the  anxious 
hand  that  had  freed  you  ;  but  you  did  not  see  me, 
for  your  whole  narrow  mind  was  bent  upon  a 
woman  whose  face  was  forgotten  in  an  hour  for 
the  face  of  another. 

"  Then  you  took  your  cowardly  flight,  and  left 
us  to  bear  the  consequences.  But  you  have  taught 
me  that  man  needs  all  his  experience  here,  even 
the  fear  of  death.  His  ignorance  and  selfishness 
are  millstones  about  his  neck  ;  but  each  man  must 
work  out  his  own  freedom. 

"  Look  at  me  for  a  moment.  Now  close  your 
eyes." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  321 

I  did  as  he  commanded.  I  felt  the  touch  of  his 
hand,  and  in  a  moment  the  stout  woman  led  me, 
clad  in  my  earthly  clothes,  to  Paul  St.  Clair. 

Whether  it  was  reluctance  to  return  to  this  vale 
of  tears,  or  because  my  mortal  particles  had  been 
too  hastily  reunited,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  I  felt  de- 
pressed and  very  weak,  and  was  glad  that  the  kind 
old  gentleman,  instead  of  meeting  me  with  con- 
demnation, simply  helped  me  to  bed  without  a 
reproach.  Still,  I  think  I  felt  a  vague  sense  of 
attachment  to  the  Earth  that  I  never  knew  before 
as  he  drew  the  bedclothes  gently  over  me. 


322  A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

I  DID  not  open  my  eyes  until  the  sun  was  high. 
The  room  was  shaded  by  heavy  curtains,  but 
between  them  I  could  see  the  bright  light,  and 
knew  that  it  must  be  near  or  quite  midday.  Be- 
side the  bed,  asleep  on  a  lounge,  lay  Thurston,  still 
dressed  in  his  jester's  suit.  Suddenly  he  awoke 
and  looked  at  me  anxiously. 

"  How  long  have  you  been  awake  ?  "  he  asked, 
rubbing  his  eyes.  "  I  must  have  fallen  asleep. 
How  are  you,  all  right  ? " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  rather  dismally.  "  Is  the 
party  over  ?  " 

"  Everything  is  over." 

"Why  don't  you  go  to  bed.  then?"  I  felt  un- 
comfortable when  I  remembered  that  I  had  disap- 
peared, and  might  have  to  give  an  account  of  my- 
self. I  did  not  enjoy  the  way  he  looked  at  me,  and 
I  asked  him  what  was  the  matter. 

"  Do  you  know  what  you  have  done,  John 
Hardy?" 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  323 

"  I  imagine  I  do." 

"  Well,  sir,  do  you  know  that  the  craziest  inves- 
tigator that  ever  lived  would  not  have  dared  to  do 
what  you  did  last  night  ?  " 

"It  was  your  friend  who  proposed  it;  and  he 
did  not  propose  any  more  than  he  was  willing  to 
try  himself." 

"  He  has  proposed  it  pretty  often  to  me,  but  I 
never  thought  of  his  even  trying  to  take  you  in. 
Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  get  out  of  bed  and 
prance  about  a  little,  just  to  ease  my  anxiety  ? 
You  were  put  together  last  night  in  considerable 
of  a  hurry,  and  if  anything  is  wrong  I  am  told  it 
must  remain  so,  for  the  medium  says  nothing  will 
ever  tempt  her  to  be  entranced  again.  You  have 
ruined  her  business,  and  it  was  her  husband's  only 
means  of  support.  But  will  you  take  the  trouble 
to  see  how  your  joints  work  ?  " 

"  It  would  be  an  insult  to  the  great  Hermes,"  I 
said,  "  and  I  have  disgusted  him  enough  already. 
Besides,  Paul  St.  Clair  appeared  to  have  no  anxiety 
about  himself." 

"  Paul  St.  Clair ! "  he  repeated,  looking  me 
fixedly  in  the  face.  When  he  saw  that  I  did  not 
retreat,  he  continued,  "  Oh,  you  and  Clara  treated 
me  well  last  night ! 

"  Listen :  I  wanted  that  party  to  be  eminently 
respectable  on  your  account  and  hers ;  and  at 


324  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

first  I  thought  of  not  letting  mother  and  Maria 
Williams  even  look  in  upon  us,  because  they  are 
known  to  believe  in  Spiritualism.  Then  you  ar- 
ranged it  so  Consolation  Temple  stayed,  and  Clara 
got  Mandy  Litchfield  and  old  Miss  Kimball  and 
shut  them  up  in  my  little  room  ;  and  there  they 
materialized  any  spirit  that  came,  without  asking 
for  any  credentials  whatever. 

"  You  know  that  little  dancer  in  the  big  bonnet  ? 
She  was  the  last  effort.  I  pushed  open  the  door 
of  the  little  room,  and  there  I  saw  poor  old  Kim- 
ball  ;  they  had  drawn  so  much  material  from  her 
that  she  looked  like  a  great  collapsed  balloon. 
This  last  little  one  had  to  go  without  a  head.  That 
was  Aunt  Marthy's  mother's  bonnet  she  wore,  — 
that  was  a  real  bonnet ;  and  just  before  it  was  time 
to  unmask,  the  Professor  could  n't  resist  the  temp- 
tation, and  he  took  a  turn  with  her  ;  and  while  he 
was  waltzing  away,  with  his  collar  marked  '  benev- 
olence,'and  his  right  shoulder  'self-esteem,' — for 
it  was  warm,  and  his  labels  slipped  about  a  little, — 
all  of  a  sudden  he  found  himself  dancing  with  noth- 
ing in  his  arms  but  the  big  bonnet !  By  Jove  ! 
Wasn't  he  a  scared  man  ?  He  retired  to  give  his 
bump  of  courage  a  treatment,  and  nobody  has 
seen  him  since. 

"  Oh,  you  can  look  horrified  now,  John  Hardy  ; 
but  what  were  you  doing,  at  the  same  time,  with 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  325 

Paul  St.  Clair,  a  medium,  and  a  fat  woman? 
Maria  Williams  says  you  dug  your  social  grave 
last  night,  you  half  materialized  monk,  you !  Now, 
don't  you  think  this  is  all  pretty  hard  on  me? 
Clara  Norton,  who  gave  the  party  with  me,  down- 
stairs materializing  girls  to  see  if  she  could  find 
the  one  I  was  in  love  with,  and  you  upstairs  —  " 

"  What  did  you  say  ?  "  I  cried,  springing  up  in 
bed. 

"  Yes,  Clara  thought  I  was  in  love  with  Jeannette 
Carlton,  and  did  not  know  that  she  was  dead." 

"  Jeannette  dead  !  "  I  whispered,  with  a  feeling 
of  horror  I  could  not  control. 

"  Did  you  know  her  ?  And  you  did  n't  know 
she  was  dead  ?  " 

"  If  she  is  dead,  Thurston,  I  killed  her  ! " 

"  She  did  n't  say  so." 

"  What  woman  would  say  she  died  for  a  man 
who  never  owned  that  he  cared  enough  for  her  to 
save  her  from  the  grave  ?  She  was  a  martyr  !  " 

How  I  had  changed  since  I  came  to  The  Pop- 
lars, to  be  able  to  speak  like  this !  "  I  do  not  love 
her  now,"  I  continued,  as  he  looked  at  me  in  aston- 
ishment, "  but  I  thought  I  loved  her ;  and  —  I 
allowed  her  to  care  for  me." 

"  I  don't  want  to  take  any  wind  out  of  the  sail  of 
your  conceit,  John  ;  but  when  was  it  that  you  won 
and  broke  Miss  Carlton:s  heart?  " 


326  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  Your  sarcasm  is  a  balm  to  my  conscience,"  I 
said  honestly,  for  I  felt  perhaps  he  could  contradict 
the  terrible  idea  which  had  taken  root  in  my  mind. 
"  It  was  the  early  part  of  last  summer  that  I  went 
with  Nanny  to  Mr.  Carlton's  to  board." 

"  Just  so,"  said  he  with  a  grim  smile ;  "  and  I 
went  there  in  September.  I  had  been  to  the  sea- 
shore all  summer,  and  wanted  a  change.  It  was 
in  September  that  I  won  her  heart,  and  it  was  whole 
then ;  a  month  later  she  gave  it  to  a  grocer.  Oh, 
I  could  have  borne  it  if  he  had  been  a  wholesale 
grocer,  but  he  was  a  retail  man  !  " 

I  tried  to  speak,  but  found  myself  only  shaking 
my  head  feebly.  I  could  not  believe  his  words. 

"It's  queer,"  he  said,  looking  at  me  in  a  puzzled 
way,  "  that  when  a  bright  man  does  play  the  fool 
he  can  do  it  as  well  as  he  can  do  anything  else. 
Now,  who  could  think  to  look  at  you  that  you  had 
a  country  coquette  on  your  conscience  ?  I  never 
had  an  idea  till  to-day  that  you  had  a  con- 
science." 

"  And  she  is  dead  !  "  I  murmured ;  "  dead,  dead  ! 
And  I  thought  I  saw  her  last  night !  " 

"  Of  course  you  saw  her ;  you  were  looking  after 
her  instead  of  taking  care  of  your  siren.  Do  you 
know  anything  about  what  the  siren  was  doing 
while  you  were  doing  Jupiter  ?  " 

"  She  was  selling  prayers,  I  suppose." 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  327 

"  That  was  the  nun.  Later,  a  beautiful  gypsy 
fortune-teller  appeared;  by  some  infernal  gift  or 
other  she  knew  everybody,  and  told  some  strange 
things.  Many  could  n't  cross  her  hand  with  silver 
because  they  did  n't  have  any ;  and  she  took 
pledges,  in  shape  of  rings  and  pins,  and  anything 
she  could  get.  Of  course,  anything  was  given, 
and  naturally  expected  back.  When  the  time 
came  for  her  to  show  her  face,  no  fortune-teller 
was  to  be  found.  Consolation  was  again  the  pious 
nun.  I  told  everybody  the  fortune-teller  was  a 
friend  of  yours,  and  when  you  came  back  she 
would.  If  those  things  had  not  been  returned,  I 
should  have  held  you  responsible." 

"  Then  they  were  returned  ?  " 

"  Dwight  Salem  came  here  early  this  morning 
and  gave  me  a  package  ;  he  said  the  fortune-teller 
gave  it  to  him  last  night  to  be  delivered  to  me. 
On  opening  it,  I  found  the  missing  valuables. 
How  do  you  account  for  that  ?  * 

In  my  own  mind  I  had  not  a  doubt  that  Dwight 
Salem  had  bought  at  a  fabulous  price  these  things 
from  the  dishonest  woman  he  loved,  to  save  her 
from  disgrace.  I  simply  said,  "  I  should  believe 
what  he  says." 

"  That  Consolation  Temple  gave  him  those 
things  ?  " 

"  Why  not  ?  " 


328  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  John,  he  bought  them ;  and  he  paid  well  for 
them  !  Would  he  care  on  my  account  if  they  were 
never  returned  ?  Not  a  bit  of  it !  You  were  sup- 
posed to  be  connected  with  the  fortune-teller.  He 
did  it  for  you !  " 

"  Let  it  go  so,  or  any  way  ;  for  I  am  too  tired  to 
argue,  and  I  feel  a  strange  feeling  of  lightness." 
I  grasped  his  hand  suddenly  and  cried,  "  Call  Mr. 
St.  Clair,  quick,  for  I  believe  I  am  dissolving  !  " 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  don't  know  Paul  St. 
Clair  yet,  John?" 

"  Is  he  really  a  lunatic  ?  "  I  asked  in  a  low  tone, 
for  I  feared  the  old  gentleman  might  be  near. 

"  A  lunatic  ?     No.     He  is  a  dead  man  !  " 

"  A  dead  man ! "  I  gasped,  forgetting  that  my 
mortal  frame  was  dissolving. 

"  He  died  seventy  years  ago,"  said  Thurston, 
slowly ;  "  I  can  take  you  to  the  churchyard  and 
show  you  his  tomb.  When  you  first  came,  mother 
asked  me  not  to  tell  you ;  because  she  wanted  to 
know  if  a  spirit  could  be  materialized  and  stay  in 
the  house  with  people  who  did  not  know  him  and 
be  taken  for  a  genuine  mortal  man." 

I  remembered  Paul  St.  Clair's  words :  "  Come, 
be  reasonable  ;  has  anything  happened  that  could 
do  you  the  least  harm  ?  "  and  I  answered  with  a 
coolness  I  tried  to  feel,  "  Once  this  might  have 
given  me  a  shock,  but  after  going  about  with  a 


A  FearUss  Investigator.  329 

man  who  died  as  long  ago  as  Trismegistus,  seventy 
years  seems  but  a  day." 

"  I  did  n't  expect  to  astonish  a  follower  of  the 
great  Hermes  ;  but  it  was  fun  to  see  the  old  house- 
keeper going  in  and  out  of  your  room,  and  you 
never  knowing  she  was  a  spirit." 

"  It  was  really  Salem's  great-grandmother  then, 
the  aristocratic  housekeeper  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  who  she  is ;  she  came  here,  was 
materialized,  and  asked  to  stay  as  a  housekeeper. 
She  comes  back  to  have  her  pride  taken  out  of 
her.  She  says  pride  has  been  the  curse  of  all  her 
race.  Old  St  Clair  says  the  love  of  gold  was  the 
chronic  trouble  in  his  house.  Oh,  it  is  all  very 
interesting,  John,  and  I  wanted  you  to  see  into  it  a 
little ;  but  I  had  no  idea  that  you  would  go  ahead 
of  us  all.  Truly,  if  you  were  not  my  guest  I  should 
say  that  you  had  gone  a  trifle  too  far.  Since  we 
have  had  such  a  fright  about  you,  we've  had 
enough  of  the  thing." 

"  You  can  give  it  up  if  you  will,"  I  cried ;  "but 
I  am  a  practical  Spiritualist,  if  not  a  practical 
Phrenologist  You  know  I  am  a  poor  man  now, 
Thurston;  I  cannot  afford  to  hire  housekeepers 
and  servants,  yet  I  must  have  them.  Think  of  the 
number  of  proud  spirits  who  need  to  walk  through 
the  valley  of  humiliation !  Think  of  the  number 
of  indolent  souls  that  must  be  waiting  for  an  op- 


330  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

portunity  to  come  back  and  work  as  many  years 
as  they  wasted  here  upon  the  earth !  Aided  by 
competent  mediums,  what  department  in  house  or 
office  that  we  could  not  fill?  That  is  the  selfish 
side  of  it.  Now  for  a  moment  think  of  the  benefit 
we  could  be  to  them !  I  have  not  visited  The  Pop- 
lars for  nothing.  I  will  never  close  my  mind  again 
to  any  idea  however  strange  or  absurd  it  may  look 
to  me  at  first." 

Thurston  did  not  reply,  nor  seem  to  hear  my 
harangue  at  all.  He  was  bending  over  the  bed, 
watching  me  in  speechless  horror.  When  he  was 
able  to  speak,  he  said  in  a  terrified  whisper  :  "  Yes, 
you  are  going ;  you  are  fading  away,  just  as  the 
monk's  suit  faded  !  " 

What  he  had  said  was  only  too  true.  I  had 
slowly  dematerialized.  As  the  mortal  veil  faded 
from  my  eyes,  I  saw  again  the  dark  face  of  the 
Egyptian.  Thurston  had  bounded  from  the  room. 

"  It  was  done  too  hastily,"  Hermes  said  kindly. 
"  I  have  sent  Paul  St.  Clair  to  impress  upon  Mrs. 
Moore  the  necessity  of  sending  immediately  for 
Mandy  Litchfield,  and  you  will  be  solid  enough 
next  time." 

If  the  stout  woman  could  have  heard  this !  "  I 
have  had  enough  of  the  solid  ;  now  that  I  am  free 
again,  let  me  remain  so,  I  beg." 

In  spite  of  my  prayer,  the  great  Hermes  said : 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  331 

"  You  must  bid  me  farewell.  I  shall  be  able 
to  see  you,  but  you  will  soon  remember  me  only  as 
a  dream.  Through  you  I  have  proved  that  which 
I  would  have  lived  or  died  to  have  proved  when 
I  was  upon  the  earth ;  that  which  I  have  worked 
for  since  I  left  the  earth.  But  it  would  be  no 
blessing  to  man.  I  renounce  the  idea  while  I  find 
myself  still  holding  to  it  from  habit,  —  as  you  will 
hold  in  your  imagination  the  image  of  the  woman 
you  thought  you  loved,  long  after  you  have  ceased 
to  cherish  her." 

While  he  was  speaking,  Thurston  returned  with 
his  mother,  Mandy  Litchfield,  Maria  Williams,  and 
old  Miss  Kimball,  all  in  a  breathless  state. 

"  You  have  lost  your  senses,  my  boy,"  cried  Mrs. 
Moore  ;  "  I  don't  believe  you  have  seen  him  since 
he  went  away." 

"  I  talked  with  him  in  that  bed,  and  saw  him 
disappear,  just  as  you  have  seen  old  St.  Clair  go 
out,"  said  Thurston,  firmly.  » 

"  Well,  we  can  set,"  said  old  Miss  Kimball, 
cheerfully,  who  was  probably  tired  of  standing, — 
"we  can  set  and  see  what  comes;  and  if  he  is 
dead  and  gone,  it  is  because  it  is  his  time  to  go ; 
and  Mandy  can  bring  him  back  for  his  friends  to 
see." 

"  I  wish  he  had  never  come  to  The  Poplars  !  " 
sighed  Mrs.  Moore.  "  How  can  I  believe  this 


332  A  fearless  Investigator. 

absurd  story?  He  went  away,  and  has  met  with 
some  accident." 

"  Why,  I  don't  feel  the  least  scared  when  you 
talk  about  bringing  anybody  back,"  said  Miss 
Kimball ;  "  but  the  idea  of  sendin'  'em  off  before 
their  time  did  sort  of  take  hold  of  me  for  a  minute. 
Lor',  Mandy  's  off.  Now,  if  there  is  anything  here 
to  materialize,  she  can  do  it." 

A  mortal  suit  was  made  for  me  rapidly.  My 
psychic  sight  was  closing  when  I  saw  Paul  St. 
Clair. 

"  Good-bye,  good-bye  for  a  time,  my  dear  boy  ! " 
he  said,  affectionately. 

I  reached  my  hand  towards  his  fading  face,  and 
cried,  "  Good-bye ;  "  but  I  am  not  sure  that  he 
heard  me,  and  I  never  saw  him  again.  Nor  was 
he  ever  seen  more  at  The  Poplars. 

The  moment  Mrs.  Moore  was  convinced  that  I 
was  safe,  and  in  my  body  enough  to  open  my 
mortal  mouth,  she  poured  down  my  throat  a  large 
glass  of  wine.  She  did  not  even  ask  if  I  had  re- 
turned a  teetotaler.  Thurston  took  up  one  of  my 
hands  and  rubbed  it  gently. 

"  I  would  n't  handle  him  much  yet,"  Miss  Kim- 
ball  whispered. 

"  Mandy  will  look  out  for  him  now,"  said  Mrs. 
Moore ;  "  I  am  not  at  all  afraid  he  will  go  again. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  333 

I  cannot  realize  that  he  has  been  invisible :  why, 
it  is  too  wonderful  to  credit !  " 

Her  tone  was  so  confident,  I  felt  sadly  sure  that 
I  was  thoroughly  materialized  and  bound  to  the 
earth.  I  should  never  see  Hermes  Trismegistus 
again  !  And  my  journeys  hereafter  must  be  con- 
fined to  this  small  planet 


334  -A  Fearless  Investigator. 


CHAPTER  XXIL 

WHATEVER  idea  the  great  Egyptian  held, 
there  was  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  Mandy 
Litchfield  had  put  me  together  very  solidly.  I  felt 
sometimes  as  if  I  had  a  body  without  joints,  and 
sometimes  as  if  I  had  been  cut  out  of  one  solid 
piece  of  wood,  warranted  not  to  be  joined  in  any 
place.  I  felt  pain  often,  and  always  discomfort; 
and  asked  Thurston  if  he  thought  Mandy  could 
limber  me  a  little. 

She  tried  to  help  me,  but  succeeded  only  in  mak- 
ing me  feel  worse ;  and  I  longed  for  the  medium 
whose  work  did  not  seem  so  satisfactory  to  the 
others  as  Mandy's.  I  often  longed  also  to  see 
Paul  St.  Clair;  but  when  it  occurred  to  me  what 
he  was,  I  thought  he  had  caused  Mrs.  Moore  and 
Thurston  anxiety  enough,  and  much  as  I  wanted  his 
advice  I  would  not  ask  for  him.  Yet  I  was  suffer- 
ing the  most  acute  agony  from  the  fear  that  some- 
thing was  wrong  in  my  materialization.  I  hoped 
again  to  feel  the  lightness  which  preceded  my  disso- 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  335 

lution  after  the  work  of  the  other  medium,  but  it 
did  not  come. 

The  scientific  side  of  my  mind  then  began  to 
torture  me  with  the  thought  that  the  first  time  I 
was  dissolved  those  particles  of  matter  were  not 
destroyed,  nor  even  changed,  or  they  could  not 
have  been  considered  fit  to  clothe  me  again  in 
mortality.  What  had  become  of  them  ?  In  mate- 
rializing, they  had  drawn  from  the  stout  woman 
behind  the  screen;  in  dematerializing,  must  not 
the  same  stout  woman  act  as  a  reservoir,  and  hold 
the  separated  particles  until  called  for? 

It  was  beginning  to  grow  clear  in  my  mind.  I 
had  been  dissolved  by  one  medium,  aided  by  one 
stout  woman,  and  put  together  by  another  medium, 
aided  by  another  stout  woman :  namely,  old  Miss 
Kimball.  To  a  spirit  who  only  desired  to  come 
back  for  an  hour  and  "prance  about,"  as  Thtirston 
called  it,  it  could  make  no  difference  what  material 
was  used,  or  what  stout  person  contributed ;  but  to 
return  as  a  permanency,  there  was  a  strange  long- 
ing for  one's  own  individual  corpuscles. 

Where  was  old  Miss  Kimball  when  I  was  dis- 
solved ?  Was  there  the  slightest  reason  to  suppose 
that  any  unconscious  affinity  drew  my  dissolving 
frame  towards  her  ?  Was  it  not  much  more  likely 
that  the  mortal  particles  which  had  once  found  a 
resting-place  in  the  stout  woman  (whose  name  I 


336  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

did  not  know),  in  finding  themselves  again  separat- 
ing had  naturally  been  drawn  towards  the  same 
reservoir?  I  felt  convinced  of  this  from  the  fact 
that  after  I  had  been  materialized  the  first  time  I 
did  not  think  of  my  body  at  all,  whereas  now  it 
appeared  strange  and  unnatural  to  me.  There  was 
a  heaviness  about  it  which  reminded  me  unpleas- 
antly of  old  Miss  Kimball,  and  a  tendency  to  go  to 
sleep  even  while  people  were  talking  to  me. 

There  was  for  me  but  one  hope  :  Thurston  must 
find  the  medium  Paul  St.  Clair  had  brought,  and 
demand  that  she  dissolve  this  cumbrous  body  and 
return  to  me  my  own  habiliments  of  clay.  But 
what  if  she  should  refuse  ?  Would  not  the  Egyp- 
tian impress  upon  her  the  necessity  of  coming  ?  I 
asked  Thurston  if  he  thought  he  could  get  her  to 
come  and  stay  long  enough  for  me  to  ask  her  a 
few  questions.  He  said  he  could  probably  find  her 
with  little  difficulty ;  but  she  had  taken  a  solemn 
vow  before  his  mother  and  Maria  Williams  that 
she  would  never  have  anything  more  to  do  with 
materializations,  nor  would  she  even  talk  on  the 
subject.  I  insisted  that  I  must  see  her,  and  was 
so  much  in  earnest  about  it  that  he  sent  for  her, 
and  she  came  as  soon  as  possible.  I  was  still  in 
bed,  for  I  felt  that  to  stand  or  move  about  was 
impossible.  My  body  would  not  obey  me. 

When  the  medium  understood  that  I  demanded 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  337 

to  be  remade,  she  was  attacked  with  hysterics, 
and  but  for  the  tact  of  Maria  Williams  I  fear  she 
would  have  run  away  without  giving  any  attention 
to  my  unfortunate  condition;  but  that  lady,  after 
much  quiet  but  forcible  argument,  induced  her  to 
say  that  she  would  sit  just  long  enough  to  see  me 
back  again  in  my  own  clay,  and  then  nothing,  — 
neither  the  promise  of  money  nor  fame  could  ever 
persuade  her  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
business  again. 

I  insisted  upon  having  the  same  stout  woman, 
and  when  she  arrived  I  felt  that  my  trouble  was 
nearly  over;  but  just  as  the  medium  was  closing 
her  eyes,  I  said  to  Thurston  that  perhaps  Hermes 
himself  would  superintend  the  work,  and  I  should 
be  very  glad  to  see  him  again. 

"How  will  you  see  him?"  asked  the  medium, 
rousing  herself  again. 

"  Why,  of  course  I  must  be  dematerialized,  — 
that  is,  thoroughly  dissolved,  —  before  I  can  be 
rematerialized,  and  sure  of  my  own  particles." 

No  sooner  did  she  understand  this  than  she 
became  almost  violent  with  anger.  "  I  see  through 
it  all  now !  "  she  exclaimed,  shaking  her  head  at  me 
in  a  very  rude  manner,  —  "I  see  through  it,  very 
nicely!  You  want  to  scoot  off  again  to  Jupiter, 
and  leave  me  entranced  for  Heaven  knows  how 
long  a  time  !  No  dematerializations  for  me  again, 


338  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

if  you  please !  I  will  do  what  I  can  for  you  in  the 
body  you  are  in  now ;  but  if  you  propose  to  dissolve 
it,  you  can  get  another  medium.  As  for  being  a 
kite-string,  and  holding  on  to  you  while  you  sail  up 
to  Jupiter,  I  would  n't  bear  it  again,  not  if  you  told 
me  you  was  put  together  inside  out ;  and  it  ain't 
reason  for  you  to  expect  it !  " 

For  a  moment  I  thought  I  could  bear  the  idea 
of  remaining  as  I  was  better  than  I  could  endure 
the  thought  of  humiliating  myself  enough  to  plead 
with  this  woman ;  but  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to 
raise  my  hand  conquered  my  pride,  and  I  said :  "  I 
can  only  give  you  my  word  that  I  will  not  go  away. 
I  am  not  so  ignorant  of  conditions  as  I  was ;  and 
as  for  being  unreasonable,  I  only  ask  for  my  own 
mortal  body  in  which  to  continue  my  earthly  pil- 
grimage. I  was  dematerialized  by  you  and  this 
lady,  then  rematerialized  by  you,  but  imperfectly ; 
and  you  know  the  result,  —  utter  dissolution.  I 
was  again  materialized  by  Miss  Mandy  Litchfield, 
assisted  by  Miss  Kimball.  I  am  not  satisfied.  I 
find  no  fault  with  Miss  Litchfield  nor  Miss  Kim- 
ball;  they  could  not  return  to  me  what  another 
held." 

As  I  spoke  these  last  words  I  looked  unflinch- 
ingly at  the  stout  woman,  who  had  grown  stouter 
since  the  party  with  stolen  corpuscles,  —  corpuscles 
which  belonged  rightfully  to  me,  I  believed.  She 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  339 

approached  my  bed,  her  face  purple  with  an  emo- 
tion I  could  not  understand,  and,  shaking  her  fat 
forefinger  at  me,  said,  — 

"  You  are  on  a  very  low  plane,  young  man ;  you 
may  call  it  a  scientific  plane.  You  believe  you  can 
prove  where  your  earthly  tabernacle  went  when  it 
disappeared ;  but  it  is  rather  beyond  your  chemistry, 
I  guess.  But  I  will  meet  you  on  your  own  plane, 
young  sir,  as  we  always  have  to  the  unenlightened. 
We  will  allow  that  when  you  were  dissolved  the 
first  time,  Mandy  Litchfield  and  that  Kimball 
woman  was  n't  round,  and  they  had  no  control 
over  the  matter  that  you  call  yours.  Then  where 
did  they  get  the  stuff  they  used  to  make  you  up 
again  ?  " 

"  From  Miss  Kimball,"  I  replied  glibly. 

"/•ransely,  exact\y"  she  said;  "and  arguing 
from  your  plane,  if  we  dematerialize  you  now,  who 
is  to  take  charge  of  that  superfluous  matter,  if  you 
please,  sir  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  point  I  had  not  considered,"  I  said 
humbly. 

"  You  will  please  consider  it." 

The  more  I  considered  it  the  more  I  was  per- 
plexed, and  appealed  to  Maria  Williams. 

"  There  is  but  one  thing  to  do,"  she  said  cheer- 
fully. "  You  must  have  this  body  dissolved  any 
way ;  let  Mandy  and  old  Miss  Kimball  attend  to 


340  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

it.  That  will  leave  you  just  as  you  were  when  you 
were  in  charge  of  this  medium,  when  you  returned 
from  Jupiter;  then  she  will  materialize  you,  and 
leave  you  as  she  found  you  at  first." 

"  I  defy  Mandy  Litchfield  to  dematerialize  him  !" 
exclaimed  the  medium  angrily.  "  I  am  the  only 
person  who  ever  attempted  it." 

"  We  all  know  that,"  said  Mrs.  Moore,  with  a 
conciliatory  gesture ;  "  but  Mandy  can  try.  There 
must  be  a  first  time." 

"  Let  her  try  it,"  the  stout  woman  observed 
loftily,  —  "  let  her  try  it,  and  we  will  see  what  we 
will  see ! " 

I  could  understand  that  it  must  be  trying  to  these 
persons  to  give  up  a  dematerialization  into  other 
hands,  and  receive  the  credit  simply  for  anything 
which  had  become  so  hackneyed  as  to  materialize. 
But  I  am  sure  they  would  have  agreed  to  it  but  for 
an  unfortunate  remark  from  Thurston. 

"  Perhaps  after  we  put  him  through  all  that  you 
propose,"  he  said,  "  the  same  thing  may  happen 
again;  he  may  dissolve  right  before  our  eyes.  I 
would  rather  have  him  as  he  is.  I  tell  you  there  is 
no  such  materializer  as  Mandy !  Look  at  all  those 
spirits  she  materialized  for  the  party  !  Who  knew 
that  they  were  not  living  mortal  creatures?  And 
when  I  told  them  they  must  all  disappear  before 
supper,  it  was  hard  work  to  get  them  out  of  the 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  341 

way;  they  were  as  solid  as  statues  !  Oh,  there  is 
nobody  like  Mandy  for  materializing!  " 

"  I  will  not  stay  and  listen  to  the  praise  of  a 
fraud  and  a  trickster,"  cried  the  medium ;  "  and 
as  for  working  with  her,  I  never  could  bring  myself 
to  do  it,  although  this  is  the  last  time,  the  very  last 
time,  I  shall  ever  have  anything  to  do  with  mate- 
rializations or  Spiritualists.  I  refuse  now  even  to 
be  entranced  to-day,  /sit  with  Mandy  Litchfield 
in  the  house  !  I  care  too  much  for  my  reputation 
as  a  medium  !  " 

No  tact  nor  argument  was  of  any  avail.  The 
two  ladies  would  listen  to  no  one ;  and  as  they 
departed,  I  heard  first  one  and  then  the  other 
repeating  the  name  of  "  Mandy  Litchfield M  in 
tones  of  shrill  contempt. 

For  several  days  the  best  mediums  in  and  about 
Boston  were  consulted  by  Mrs.  Moore  and  Thurs- 
ton,  and  the  result  of  these  consultations  would  fill 
volumes.  Many  of  the  mediums  visited  pretended 
that  they  had  often  dematerialized  with  great  suc- 
cess ;  but  when  Thurston  offered  them  a  large  sum 
if  they  would  dissolve  a  small  cat  before  he  engaged 
them  to  experiment  with  me,  they  refused  to  at- 
tempt  it ;  and  the  only  comfort  I  derived  from  the 
investigations  was  the  satisfaction  of  enjoying  the 
melancholy  distinction  of  being  the  only  human 
creature  who  had  ever  suffered  dissolution  before 


34 2  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

his  appointed  time,  and  the  only  one  ever  conscious 
of  a  reincarnation. 

There  are  people  who  are  so  constituted  that 
they  can  enjoy  even  an  abnormal  distinction. 
Unfortunately  for  me,  I  was  never  of  that  nature. 
I  began  to  suffer  from  the  idea  that  Thurston  was 
beginning  to  look  upon  me  as  a  phenomenon. 
This  was  unjust,  I  am  sure,  as  no  one  could  have 
been  more  hopeful  than  he  whenever  he  came  near 
me.  For  a  few  hours  he  had  the  idea  of  arresting 
the  medium  and  the  stout  woman  for  stealing. 
But  suppose  a  Court  of  Equity  had  allowed  my 
claim ;  and  the  stout  woman,  awed  by  the  law, 
had  acknowledged  her  willingness  to  deliver  up 
her  spoils,  —  of  what  use  would  it  all  be  to  me, 
while  no  medium  could  be  found  who  would  dis- 
encumber me  from  my  present  body,  which  belonged 
to  good  old  Miss  Kimball,  who  was  ready  to  do 
anything  she  could  for  me,  providing  it  did  not 
require  loss  of  sleep.  But  until  I  could  be  dema- 
terialized  there  was  no  hope  ;  and  the  one  person 
in  all  the  world,  probably,  who  could  do  it  had 
refused. 

Never  did  a  man  have  a  more  faithful  friend 
than  I  found  in  Thurston  Moore.  He  did  not 
abandon  me  for  a  moment ;  but  when  he  ceased 
to  meet  each  hour  with  a  new  plan  for  my  deliver- 
ance, I  began  to  feel  a  despair  that  I  could  not 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  343 

overcome :  and  from  that  despair  grew  the  deter- 
mination that  I  would  deliver  myself. 

Before  I  had  taken  on  the  Kimball  mortality  I 
had  been  troubled  with  wakefulness,  and  I  had 
asked  Thurston  to  get  me  some  narcotic  which  I 
could  keep  by  my  bedside.  Out  of  respect  for 
Nanny,  who  is  a  rabid  homoeopathist,  I  had  only 
looked  at  the  phial  as  yet,  but  I  remembered 
Thurston  had  said  that  there  was  enough  in  that 
little  bottle  to  make  half-a-dozen  men  sleep  till  the 
judgment  day. 

When  no  one  was  near,  I  hid  the  bottle  under 
my  pillow ;  and  when  Thurston's  back  was  turned, 
I  hastily  swallowed  nearly  half  the  contents.  Very 
soon  after,  my  eyes  began  to  grow  heavy ;  I  tried 
to  keep  them  open,  for  I  said  to  myself,  "  When 
they  close  now,  it  will  be  forever."  Still,  when 
they  had  closed  I  felt  no  regret 

I  imagined  that  I  was  the  kernel  of  a  nut,  and 
the  material  part  that  old  Miss  Kimball  had  sup- 
plied was  the  shell.  After  a  while  Thurston  came, 
and,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  rapped  upon  the  shell, 
and  the  sound  seemed  a  long  time  vibrating  through 
the  thick  wall ;  when  at  last  it  reached  the  kernel 
it  only  asked  if  1  felt  sleepy.  The  kernel  answered, 
"  Yes,"  and  the  answer  was  as  long  reaching 
Thurston  as  his  question  had  been  reaching  the 
kernel.  The  peace  of  forgetfulness  was  again  set- 


344  ^  Fearless  Investigator. 

tling  through  the  great  nut,  when  another  rap 
came  upon  the  shell :  — 

"  Sleep  as  long  as  you  can,  old  fellow ;  I  '11  find 
a  way  out  of  this  for  you  when  you  wake  up." 

This  message  was  a  full  half  hour  reaching  the 
kernel,  which  answered,  "  Excuse  me  if  I  never 
wake,  will  you  ?  " 

What  reply  Thurston  made  I  never  knew.  The 
dull,  heavy  shell  had  refused  even  to  be  a  medium 
of  sound.  Slowly  the  black  curtain  of  oblivion 
closed  about  me,  and  I  felt  that  no  rap  could  be 
heard  upon  its  thick,  soft  folds. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  345 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

you  know  me,  dear  ?" 

These  words  made  their  escape  between 
a  choke  and  a  sob  in  a  voice  I  knew  very  well, 
as  I  did  the  face  which  bent  over  me.  It  was 
my  sister  Nanny.  There  was  something  about 
Nanny's  personality  which  always  seemed  to  me 
analogous  to  the  rising-bell. 

I  always  loved  to  watch  the  misty  banks  of 
Dreamland  fade  slowly  away,  then  close  all  vision 
a  moment  and  shut  out  the  sharp,  hard  rocks  of 
reality  which  rise  as  the  mists  disappear.  For  a 
moment,  when  I  first  heard  my  sister's  voice,  I  felt 
as  if  I  had  been  watching  the  misty  banks  too 
long,  and  it  was  time  to  get  up. 

"  He  does  know  me ! "  said  Nanny,  joyfully, 
"  and  he  is  afraid  I  am  going  to  make  him  get  out 
of  bed.  That  is  the  way  he  always  looks  in  the 
morning." 

"  I  was  sure  he  would  be  all  right  after  this 
sleep,"  said  Thurston ;  "  Mandy  thought  so  too." 


346  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

Mandy  !  The  name  brought  it  all  back  to  my 
mind.  I  turned  to  Thurston  and  said,  "  Why  am 
I  here  ?  I  ought  to  be  dead." 

"  There,  you  see  he  is  n't  quite  clear  in  his  mind 
yet,"  Nanny  whispered  nervously ;  "  but  he  knows 
me." 

I  beckoned  to  Thurston,  and  asked  him  if  Nanny 
knew  all  that  had  happened. 

He  said  not  everything,  and  I  thought  perhaps 
it  was  better  not  to  tell  her.  She  sat  down  by 
the  bed,  and  Thurston  went  out  and  left  us  to- 
gether. 

"  You  did  not  blame  me,  John,  for  not  coming 
before  ?  "  she  said,  tenderly. 

"Who  let  you  know  that  anything  was  the 
matter  ?  Why  should  I  blame  you  ?  " 

"  Never  mind  who  sent  for  me  ;  you  are  so  well 
now  I  shall  take  you  home  in  a  few  days,  and  then 
we  shall  go  straight  to  the  country.  Dora  drove 
me  out,  and  she  wished  to  be  remembered  to  you. 
I  don't  know  what  I  should  have  done  without  her. 
She  has  been  just  like  a  sister.  She  was  so  calm 
and  hopeful,  the  night  Tom  and  I  thought  baby 
was  dying  • —  " 

"  Is  the  baby  sick  ? "  I  exclaimed,  for  I  knew 
the  baby  was  the  mainspring  of  my  sister's  life. 

"  What  else  do  you  suppose  could  have  kept  me 
from  you  ?  " 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  347 

"  Why  did  n't  Dora  tell  me  when  she  was  here  ?  " 
.1  inquired  in  an  injured  manner. 

"  When  was  Dora  here  ?  "  Nanny  asked,  coldly. 

"  Possibly  she  did  not  want  you  to  know  it ;  I 
ought  not  to  have  mentioned  it,  but  my  head  is  n't 
quite  level  yet." 

"  I  should  think  not,"  she  said  severely,  "  if  you 
believe  Dora  Salem  has  been  here." 

I  was  on  the  point  of  betraying  Dwight.  "  Never 
mind  the  Salems,"  I  said  hastily,  for  when  she 
mentioned  Dora's  name  the  whole  scene  in  the 
garden  arose  before  me,  "  but  tell  me,  is  the  baby 
all  right  now  ?  " 

"  It  makes  no  difference  whether  you  are  weak 
or  not;  I  will  not  allow  you  to  say,  '  never  mind 
the  Salems  ! '  It  is  strange  that  the  most  incon- 
siderate and  selfish  people  have  the  best  friends ! 
There  is  Dwight  Salem,  willing  to  run  himself  into 
a  shadow  to  hear  from  you  every  day ;  and  Thurs- 
ton  Moore  looks  like  an  old  man  from  taking  care 
of  you ;  and  — " 

"I  am  sure  I  tried  hard  enough  to  die,"  and 
truth  compels  me  to  write  that  a  tear  rolled  down 
my  hollow  cheek. 

"  Why,  you  must  n't  talk  to  him  like  that !  "  said 
Mandy,  coming  to  my  rescue. 

"  Never  mind,"  I  said  pathetically  ;  "  she  does 
not  know  anything  about  it." 


348  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"  You  dear  boy,  I  did  not  mean  to  be  unkind," 
said  my  impulsive  sister ;  "  but  you  shall  not  be 
ungrateful  !  And  I  must  not  let  you  talk  any 
more ;  I  will  go  away  a  few  minutes  until  you  have 
forgotten." 

"Don't  go,  Nan  !  "  I  whispered.  "I  must  tell 
you  something.  Jeannette  Carlton  is  dead  !  " 

"  Don't  say  such  strange  things,  dear,"  and  she 
took  my  hand  soothingly.  "  Who  told  you  she 
was  dead  ?  " 

"  I  saw  her." 

"  Oh,  yes,  when  you  were  out  of  your  senses !" 

"  No,  at  Thurston's  party.     Ask  him." 

She  went  to  ask  him,  and  was  gone  so  long  I 
went  to  sleep,  and  dreamed  that  Hermes  Tris- 
megistus  came  and  worked  hard  over  me  with 
Mandy  Litchfield.  "There  now  you  have  all 
that  belongs  to  you,"  said  he ;  "  don't  bother 
people  any  more ;  —  you  are  ungrateful  and  sel- 
fish." 

When  I  awoke  I  called  Thurston  and  told  him 
my  dream,  and  said  I  felt  much  better,  and  hoped 
I  should  not  trouble  him  much  longer.  Then  I 
asked  him  if  he  had  told  Nanny  that  Jeannette 
was  dead. 

"  Come,  old  man,  hold  on  to  yourself  ! "  he  said, 
laughing.  "  When  you  woke  up  you  knew  Nanny, 
and  it  was  the  first  time  you  had  seen  her.  You 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  349 

know  everything  now  as  well  as  I  do,  and  I  don't 
mean  to  go  through  any  more  lunatic  waltzes  with 
you." 

I  looked  at  him,  and  thought  he  looked  heavy- 
eyed  and  a  little  pale.  I  asked  him  how  long  it 
was  since  the  party. 

"Which  party?"  he  asked,  with  a  grin. 

"  The  masquerade  party." 

"  Steady  !  "  he  said,  "  hold  on  to  yourself  !  " 

I  tried  to  obey,  while  he  watched  me,  still 
grinning. 

"  One  question  you  shall  answer,"  1  insisted. 
"  When  was  I  properly  materialized  ?  " 

"  Steady,  old  man,  steady  !  "  he  said  sternly. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ? " 

"  Nothing  now,  —  the  morning  light  is  breaking ; 
but  you  must  hold  on  to  yourself  with  a  good  grip. 
You  have  had  a  relapse ;  but  mother,  Maria  Wil- 
liams, and  I  pulled  you  through  with  the  help  of  a 
good  nurse." 

"  Mandy  Litchfield  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  name  you  call  her,  and  she  lets  it 
go.  She  does  n't  know  who  Mandy  Litchfield  is, 
though." 

"  Jeannette  Carlton  is  dead,"  I  said. 

"  Well,  who  said  she  was  n't  ?  I  don't  care.  I 
don't  even  know  who  she  is,  nor  did  I  ever  hear  of 
her  until  you  came  here." 


350  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

"Excuse  me;  I  must  remember  that  nothing  is 
real.  I  never  saw  Miss  Norton,  did  I?" 

"  Of  course  you  have  seen  her.  Did  n't  she 
come  the  same  night  you  came  ?  " 

"Certainly;  of  course  I  saw  her;  she  is  real. 
Am  I  going  to  marry  her  ?  " 

"  Marry  her  !     What  for  ?  " 

"  For  money." 

"  You  are  the  coolest  dog !  If  you  were  well  — 
but  never  mind,  never  mind,  you  will  be  all  right 
to-morrow." 

"  That 's  sensible ;  don't  get  angry,  but  as  I  recall 
things,  just  separate  them  for  me,  and  mark  them 
4  real '  and  4  unreal.'  I  shall  soon  get  straightened 
out.  Now  I  begin  to  see  the  difference,  although 
it  all  seems  pretty  real.  I  shall  get  it  all  straight 
in  time.  I  have  seen  Miss  Norton;  have  I  ever 
seen  Consolation  Temple  ?  " 

"  Certainly;  the  first  night  you  were  here." 

"  And  Emmanuel  Temple  ?  " 

"  Certainly." 

"  And  the  protoplasts  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know ;  don't  think  you  have." 

41  And  the  Professor,  and  May  Blossom  ?  " 

"  Steady,  old  man  !  " 

41  And  St.  Cecilia  ?  " 

44  Now  you  must  take  a  nap ;  you  're  off  again." 

44  These  people  are  all  as  real  to  me  as  you  are. 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  35 1 

Even  Mrs.  Hardcreeder.  I  am  sure  I  have  seen 
her,  although  not  so  often  as  the  Professor  and  his 
wife." 

"^ou  have  seen  my  aunt,  Mrs.  Hardcreeder." 

"  And  Paul  St.  Clair  ?  " 

"  Steady ! " 

"  I  know  he  is  a  dead  man,  but  he  was  mate- 
rialized, and  —  I  am  not  strong  enough  to  laugh," 
I  gasped,  as  he  made  a  pretence  of  choking  me. 

"  Don't  you  dare  mention  that  word! "  he  cried. 
"  What  I  have  suffered  from  materializing  and 
dematerializing  is  too  much  for  me  to  describe. 
You  have  been  crazy  ever  since  the  first  night  you 
came  here.  Anything  that  happened  to  you  after 
that  date,  you  can  put  down  in  a  lunatic's  journal." 

I  began  to  look  back,  laboriously  travelling  in 
mind  through  the  weeks  of  delirium  to  a  sound 
spot  of  mental  ground  to  stand  upon.  I  returned 
to  my  first  evening  at  The  Poplars.  I  recalled  Miss 
Norton,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Temple.  Then  Thurs- 
ton's  story  of  Nora  and  Robin.  Had  any  story 
ever  been  told  me  ?  I  knew  as  soon  as  I  asked 
that  this  was  still  a  reality,  although  he  told  me 
hastily,  and  with  a  great  effort  to  convince  me  that 
he  was  delighted,  that  Robert  Ryan  had  been  there 
while  I  was  ill,  and  that  everything  was  as  good  as 
settled  between  the  two  adopted  fathers,  or  would 
be  very  soon ;  although  he  believed  that  Clara 


352  A  Fearless  Investigator. 

would  always  be  despised  by  Robert's  father,  and 
Robert  by  Clara's  mother. 

I  remembered  Miss  Norton's  white  face,  and  the 
tall  king,  and  the  unhappy  jester.  "  Some  day,"  I 
said, "  perhaps  you  will  wake,  and  find  that  what  has 
seemed  like  pain  is  only  imagination,  Thurston." 

"  Very  likely,"  he  said ;  "  but  if  I  do,  you  won't 
find  me  having  a  relapse,  old  man." 

In  a  few  days,  Nanny  thought  I  was  able  to  go 
home ;  but  she  was  obliged  to  return  without  me, 
as  Thurston  said  I  came  to  "  convalesce  "  at  The 
Poplars,  and  I  had  not  done  it. 

During  the  three  pleasant  weeks  that  followed, 
I  often  found  myself  recalling  Paul  St.  Clair,  the 
Professor,  or  his  wife,  or  the  little  minstrel,  as  if 
they  were  people  as  real  as  those  about  me  ;  and  I 
often  puzzled  my  brain  to  know  what  costume  May 
Blossom  wore  at  the  masquerade  party,  and  how  it 
was  that  Emmanuel  Temple  recognized  her,  and 
why  Thurston  on  his  first  card  which  he  hid  in  the 
orange-tree  should  write  as  if  he  recognized  Conso- 
lation Temple,  and  on  the  second  admit  that  he 
had  not  discovered  her.  I  was  tempted  at  first  to 
change  this  from  the  exact  truth  for  the  sake  of  the 
story,  but  concluded  if  I  yielded  to  tin's  temptation 
I  might  yield  to  another  and  stronger. 

I  have  always  believed  that  a  good  imagination 
requires  positively  nothing  in  reality  for  a  ground- 


A  Fearless  Investigator.  353 

work ;  that  the  mind  which  can  create  the  spires  or 
fashion  the  pinnacles  of  an  imaginary  structure  can 
also  furnish  the  foundation  stone.  But  truth  guides 
my  pen,  and  sternly  bids  it  record  this  little  fact, 
which  in  a  moment  of  weakness  my  vanity  would 
have  withheld  from  the  confiding  reader:  before  I 
left  The  Poplars,  I  was  told  that  Dwight  Salem 
was  shot  through  the  arm  while  examining  one  of 
Thurston's  pistols,  and  when  my  nurse  left  me  for 
a  moment,  I  arose  from  my  bed  and  walked  to  the 
opposite  room  where  he  lay. 

While  the  practical  reader  builds  from  that  little 
reality  all  the  terrible  imaginings  of  the  affair 
between  Consolation  Temple  and  Dwight  Salem, 
I  will  not  withhold  a  fact,  — possibly  a  very  accept- 
able fact  to  psychologists:  the  very  hour  that  I 
saw  Jeannette  Carlton  walking  through  the  draw- 
ing-room dressed  in  white,  unmasked,  in  the  midst 
of  masked  figures,  she  was  in  reality  walking  up 
the  aisle  of  the  little  village  church  on  the  arm  of 
—  perhaps  the  retail  grocer;  and  the  organ  was 
playing  the  Wedding  March. 

I  married  Dora  Salem. 

THE  END. 


TALES  FROM  THE  AEGEAN. 

BY  DEMETRIOS   BIKfiLAS. 

Translated  by  Leonard  Eckstein  Opdycke,     With  an  Introduc- 
tion by  Henry  Alonzo  Huntington. 

x6mo,  258  pages.    Price,  $1.00. 


The  tales  in  this  volume  have  a  special  value  in  that  they  reflect  the 
Greek  life,  thought,  and  feeling  of  to-day.  They  have,  moreover,  a 
universal  interest  for  their  merit  as  works  of  literary  art.  They  are 
simple,  pure,  and  elevating.  Though  tinged  now  and  then  with  melan- 
choly, their  melancholy  is  of  the  kind  that,  instead  of  depressing,  buoys 
up  and  elevates  the  reader.  —  Commercial  Gazette,  Cincinnati. 

This  dainty  little  book  is  composed  of  several  tales  based  upon  the 
life  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  ^Egeau.  It  opens  up  a  new  and 
attractive  field  of  interest,  made  all  the  more  fascinating  by  the  strength 
and  vividness  of  the  sketches,  and  the  reality  and  truth  portrayed  in 
the  characters,  which  the  translator  has  carefully  preserved  throughout 
—  Public  Opinion. 

Each  tale  is  dramatic,  and  has  as  distinct  a  plot  as  is  compatible  with 
short  limits.  There  is  no  moralizing ;  the  author  is  too  eager  to  tell  his 
story  to  stop  for  that.  The  book  should  find  a  wide  welcome  because  of 
its  novelty  and  high  literary  merit.  It  is  admirably  translated.  —  Literary 
World,  Boston. 

The  stories  are  delightfully  told ;  humor  and  pathos  in  turn  call  forth 
our  admiration ;  and  we  owe  our  thanks  to  the  publishers  for  having 
introduced  this  new  author  to  the  English  reading  public.  —  The  Boston 
Times. 

The  stories  are  fresh  and  striking,  simple  in  style,  elemental  in  their 
sympathetic  appeal.  —  Independent,  New  York. 

The  author  portrays  Greek  life  as  it  is  with  true  poetic  realism,  and 
depicts  the  defects  as  well  as  the  racial  virtues  of  his  countrymen.  His 
stories  are  like  so  many  dainty  water-colors,  —  almost  luminous  in  feeling, 
and  possessing  the  indefinable  attribute  called  "atmosphere."  —  Beacon, 
Boston.  

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BEATRICE  OF  BAYOU  TfiCHE. 

BY  ALICE  ILGENFRITZ  JONES. 
I2mo,  386  pages.    Price,  $1.25. 


A  capital  story,  full  of  vigor  and  subtle  knowledge  of  human  nature; 
and  it  is  as  vivid  and  picturesque  as  the  Bayou.  —  Octave  Tkanet. 

The  author  writes  with  an  attractive,  graceful  style,  and  with  a  keen- 
ness of  observation  which  holds  the  reader's  attention.  This  love  story 
is  vigorously  told ;  the  heroine  is  a  girl  with  a  strong  sense  of  her  moral 
responsibility,  and  the  ethical  tone  of  the  story  is  very  high.  — Boston 
Journal. 

Mrs.  Jones's  writing  is  marked  by  gracefulness  and  by  considerable 
strength.  Her  descriptions,  both  of  persons  and  of  scenery,  are  uni- 
formly good  and  often  fine.  .  .  .  Take  it  all  in  all,  it  is  one  of  the  best  of 
stories.  —  State  Register,  Davenport. 

The  story  is  very  well  written,  and  is  entertaining,  though  inevitably 
sad.  There  is  nothing  exaggerated  in  it;  and  the  kindly  spirit  which 
often  existed  in  the  South  between  master  or  mistress  and  the  slave  is 
very  well  represented  by  the  family  to  which  Beatrice  and  her  old  grand- 
mother belonged.  —  The  Beacon,  Boston. 

A  wonderfully  touching  and  pathetic  story  is  that  of  Beatrice.  It 
appeals  to  one's  sympathies,  while  it  arouses  admiration  for  the  purity 
and  sweetness  of  its  tone.  It  is  full  of  interest,  too,  and  while  its  pre- 
vailing tone  is  pathetic,  it  is  not  at  all  lugubrious.  It  is  in  every  way  a 
bright  and  delightful  work  of  fiction.  —  Journal,  Milwaukee. 

The  writer  has  plunged  into  some  of  the  omnipresent  racial  problems 
in  Louisiana  society,  and  portrays  graphically  the  miseries  of  a  clever 
and  charming  girl  whose  blood  has  the  African  taint.  —  Review  of 
Reviews. 

It  is  more  than  ordinarily  well  written,  full  of  fanciful  turns  of  phrase 
and  short,  charming  pen  pastels,  and  would  be  agreeable  reading  even 
were  the  story  a  less  pulse-quickening  one.  The  author's  style  is  char- 
acterized by  a  quaint  and  delicate  humor.  —  Commercial  Advertiser, 
New  York. 


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THE  CRUCIFIXION  OF  PHILIP  STRONG. 

BY  CHARLES  M.  SHELDON. 

xamo,  267  pages.    Price,  $1.00. 



The  hero  is  an  honest,  forceful  minister,  who  believes  that  he  should 
not  allow  his  church  to  be  simply  a  social  club.  His  efforts  to  stem  the 
tide  of  luxury  and  of  selfishness  are  told  in  a  way  that  will  hold  the 
reader  interested  to  the  end.  —  Chronicle  Telegraph,  Pittsburg. 

It  is  more  than  a  well-written  and  well-conceived  story;  it  is  a  gospel, 
or,  rather,  the  gospel  of  Christ  presented  in  living  form,  coming  in  con- 
tact with  human  life,  in  all  its  phases  and  with  the  great  problems  that 
to-day  agitate  the  mind  of  society.  ...  If  this  powerful  presentation  of 
truth  in  story  form  does  not  produce  a  profound  impression  on  the  read- 
ing public,  we  shall  be  greatly  disappointed.  —  Lutheran  Evangelist, 
Dayton,  Ohio. 

The  story  is  one  of  intense  vigor  and  pathos.  It  will  secure  a  very 
wide  reading,  and  it  should  make  a  deep  impression  upon  every  reader 
and  produce  lasting  fruit.  —  The  Congregationalist,  Boston. 

An  original  and  realistic  story,  both  interesting  and  suggestive  of  earn- 
est thought.  —  The  Beacon,  Boston. 

The  story  is  often  pathetic,  sometimes  dramatic,  and  always  convincing. 
It  is  wholesome  reading  to  all,  and  instructive  to  those  who  are  led  to 
wrongly  believe  that  the  church  and  its  pastors  do  not  make  sacrifices 
for,  and  are  not  in  sympathy  with,  the  poor  of  the  world.  —  Chicago 
Record. 

The  book  abounds  in  powerful  and  convincing  arguments  for  right- 
eousness and  truth,  and  the  young  preacher  with  the  lofty  ideals,  though 
a  pathetic  figure  in  his  loneliness,  commands  respect  for  his  self-forget- 
fulness  in  a  noble  cause.  —Literary  World,  Boston. 

A  fine  piece  of  realistic  writing.  The  duty  of  the  Christian  and  the 
Christian  minister  is  clearly  unfolded.  —  Herald,  Chicago. 


Sold  by  all  booksellers,  or  mailed,  on.  receipt  of  price,  by 

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THE  PRICE  OF  PEACE. 

A  Story  of  the  Times  of  Ahab,  King  of  Israel. 
BY    A.    W.    ACKERMAN. 

lamo,  390  pages.    Price,  $1.25. 


It  throws  valuable  light  upon  an  eventful  period  of  the  history  of  this 
wonderful  people,  and  presents  a  carefully  drawn  and  lifelike  picture  of 
a  biblical  character  too  little  known,  —  the  courageous  prophet  Micaiah. 
As  a  love  story  it  is  a  gem,  and  its  historical  value  is  marked.  —  Boston 
Advertiser. 

The  author  has  written  a  religious  narrative  of  more  than  ordinary 
interest.  The  period  is  the  most  picturesque  in  the  history  of  the  ancient 
Jewish  people.  —  Sun,  Baltimore. 

It  is  a  vivid  and  thrilling  picture  of  that  wild  and  distant  time,  and 
deepens  the  interest  of  the  reader  in  the  Bible  narrative,  while  in  no 
way  warring  against  his  reverence  toward  it.  —  Literary  World,  Boston. 

The  stirring  events  in  the  time  of  Ahab  have  been  well  wrought 
together  in  this  book.  Micaiah  is  the  hero;  Obadiah  is  skilfully  pre- 
sented, and  Elijah  appears  at  intervals.  We  regard  this  as  an  excellent 
work,  alike  as  a  story,  a  study  in  character,  and  a  picture  of  the  time.  — 
Sunday  Journal,  New  York. 

The  descriptions  of  the  region  are  good,  the  different  scenes  well 
depicted  and  lifelike,  and  the  lessons  inculcated  are  helpful  and  natural. 

—  Public  Opinion,  Washington. 

In  the  "  Price  of  Peace  "  we  have  a  new  presentation  of  the  character 
of  Micaiah,  who  is  the  hero  of  Mr.  Ackerman's  romance.  The  Bible 
gives  us  only  a  meagre  glimpse  of  the  man  ;  here  we  learn  to  know  him 
as  a  man  of  passions  like  unto  our  own,  but  wiser  and  greater  than  his 
fellows.  The  author  introduces  us  to  a  period  of  rare  interest,  and  we 
learn  much  of  Elijah,  Jehoshaphat,  and  King  Ahab.  More  than  all, 
our  interest  is  awakened  in  the  lovely  Ruth,  and  we  close  the  book 
regretfully  in  the  thought  of  leaving  her  and  the  hills  of  Zebulon.  — 

—  Evening  Bulletin,  Philadelphia. 


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MONK  AND   KNIGHT. 

&n  Historical  Sttfog  in  fiction. 
BY  THE  REV.  DR.  F.  W.  GUNSAULUS. 

Two  Vols.    izmo,  707  pages.    Price,  $2.00. 


This  work  is  one  that  challenges  attention  for  its  ambitious 
character  and  its  high  aim.  It  is  an  historical  novel,  —  or,  rather, 
as  the  author  prefers  to  call  it,  "  An  Historical  Study  in  Fiction." 
It  is  the  result  of  long  and  careful  study  of  the  period  of  which  it 
treats,  and  hence  is  the  product  of  genuine  sympathies  and  a 
freshly-fired  imagination.  The  field  is  Europe,  and  the  period  is 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  —  a  time  when  the  fading 
glow  of  the  later  Renaissance  is  giving  place  to  the  brighter  glories 
of  the  dawning  Reformation. 

The  book  deals,  in  a  broad  sense,  with  the  grand  theme  of  the 
progress  of  intellectual  liberty.  Many  of  its  characters  are  well- 
known  historical  personages,  —  such  as  Erasmus,  Sir  Thomas 
More,  Cardinal  Wolsey,  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  Francis  I.  of 
France,  the  disturbing  monk  Martin  Luther,  and  the  magnificent 
Pope  Leo  X. ;  other  characters  are  of  course  fictitious,  introduced 
to  give  proper  play  to  the  author's  fancy  and  to  form  a  suitable 
framework  for  the  story. 

Interwoven  with  the  more  solid  fabric  are  gleaming  threads  of 
romance;  and  bright  bits  of  description  and  glows  of  sentiment 
relieve  the  more  sombre  coloring.  The  memorable  meeting  of  the 
French  and  English  monarchs  on  the  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold, 
with  its  gorgeous  pageantry  of  knights  and  steeds  and  silken  ban- 
ners, and  all  the  glitter  and  charm  of  chivalry,  furnish  material  for 
several  chapters,  in  which  the  author's  descriptive  powers  are  put 
to  the  severest  test ;  while  the  Waldensian  heroes  in  their  mountain 
homes,  resisting  the  persecutions  of  their  religious  foes,  afford 
some  thrilling  and  dramatic  situations. 


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THE    STORY   OF   TONTY. 

AN    HISTORICAL    ROMANCE. 

By  Mrs.  MARY  HARTWELL  CATHERWOOD. 
I2mo,  224  pages.     Price,  $1.25. 


•'  The  Story  of  Tonty  "  is  eminently  a  Western  story,  beginning 
at  Montreal,  tarrying  at  Fort  Frontenac,  and  ending  at  the  old  fort 
at  Starved  Rock,  on  the  Illinois  River.  It  weaves  the  adventures 
of  the  two  great  explorers,  the  intrepid  La  Salle  and  his  faithful 
lieutenant,  Tonty,  into  a  tale  as  thrilling  and  romantic  as  the  de- 
scriptive portions  are  brilliant  and  vivid.  It  is  superbly  illustrated 
with  twenty-three  masterly  drawings  by  Mr.  Enoch  Ward. 

Such  tales  as  this  render  service  past  expression  to  the  cause  of  his- 
tory. They  weave  a  spell  in  which  old  chronicles  are  vivified  and  breathe 
out  human  life  Mrs.  Catherwood,  in  thus  bringing  out  from  the  treasure- 
houses  of  half-forgotten  historical  record  things  new  and  old,  has  set  her- 
self one  of  the  worthiest  literary  tasks  of  her  generation,  and  is  showing 
herself  finely  adequate  to  its  fulfilment.  —  Transcript,  Boston. 

A  powerful  story  by  a  writer  newly  sprung  to  fame.  •  .  .  All  the 
century  we  have  been  waiting  for  the  deft  hand  that  could  put  flesh  upon 
the  dry  bones  of  our  early  heroes.  Here  is  a  recreation  indeed. .  .  .  One 
comes  from  the  reading  of  the  romance  with  a  quickened  interest  in  our 
early  national  history,  and  a  profound  admiration  for  the  art  that  can  so 
transport  us  to  the  dreamful  realms  where  fancy  is  monarch  of  fact.  — 
Press,  Philadelphia. 

"The  Story  of  Tonty"  is  full  of  the  atmosphere  of  its  time.  It 
betrays  an  intimate  and  sympathetic  knowledge  of  the  great  age  of  ex- 
plorers, and  it  is  altogether  a  charming  piece  of  work.  —  Christian 
Union,  New  York. 

Original  in  treatment,  in  subject,  and  in  all  the  details  of  mise  en 
scene,  it  must  stand  unique  among  recent  romances.  — News,  Chicago. 


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